Phoenix Rising
by Duncan Johnson
Summary: The X-Men face magic, demons and a mutant-hunting robot in San Francisco.
1. One

_Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters are the property of Marvel Comics and are used without permission. This is a non-profit making work of fan-fiction._

**_X-Men_**

Phoenix Rising

By Duncan Johnson

Chapter One - OMENS

San Francisco. A little after midnight. A figure stood alone on top of the city's most famous landmark. Even at this time of night, there was still a fair amount of traffic across the Golden Gate Bridge. As was typical in most modern cities, the work never stopped. Despite this volume of people on the bridge, not one of them noticed the woman. Under the circumstances, this was perhaps a forgivable error. After all, the only way to get to the top of the suspension bridge's highest support at this time of night would be to have flown up there. Which is exactly what the woman had done.

If the traffic was ignoring her, the woman was also ignoring the traffic. Rogue's attention was no longer focussed on the present. She was lost in images of the past. The link between her and the bridge was strong. This was where she had learned to fly.

_An' don't ah wish I hadn't, _she mused. The memories were not happy ones. True, it was here she had gained most of her powers, but she had gained them at the expense of another. Here, she had killed Ms Marvel. Killed her and stolen her powers. It had been the act of a confused and frightened teenager, but even after all this time, how could anyone forgive her time as an assassin? How could anyone forgive her when she could not even forgive herself?

It had happened at night. It had been a warm night, as befitted late August. She had cornered Ms Marvel, or rather Carol Danvers, outside her home. Carol had her arms full of shopping. It should have been an easy kill. It was not; Carol was not called Ms Marvel for nothing. As well as being able to fly, Carol was also incredibly strong. She had a long and successful superheroing career behind her, while Rogue was just an untrained mutant. The battle had been long and furious and had ended here, on the very heart of the Golden Gate Bridge. Unsurprisingly, Ms Marvel had the upper hand. Rogue was beaten, defeated. Or so it seemed. All that remained was for the victor to deal the killing blow. 

But Rogue was not without power herself. Her talent was to absorb people's souls when she touched them. The transfer gave her a person's memories, talents, powers, while leaving the target unconscious. Thus, Rogue turned Carol Danvers' own powers against her as she hurled her from the bridge. Usually, the transfer was temporary, but for some unknown reason, this time it was permanent. Two minds were now permanently locked within Rogue's body. Now Rogue possessed incredible strength and the ability to fly. In exchange, she got a split personality that threatened to drive her insane.

_So ah went and found Professor Xavier, _Rogue thought as she lifted herself from the bridge and took to the air. _He helped me come to terms with mah powers. Ah joined the X-Men and for the first time in mah life ah felt as if ah belonged somewhere. Ah left the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants behind and ah never looked back. And that was the day ah gave up killing._

The flight was exhilarating. This was one power she never tired of. To be up there among the clouds and the stars was an amazing sensation. It almost made up for all it had cost her. Almost. It meant a lot to a woman who could never know love. Up here she felt she could forget about all her troubles and let them drift back down to earth for someone else to deal with. 

She reached the city's outskirts sooner than she would have liked and touched down in the garden of Jessica Drew's house. House was probably a misnomer, but it was not quite big enough to be considered a mansion. Jessica Drew, the first Spider-Woman and now a private investigator, had been putting up the X-Men ever since an all-powerful being known as the Beyonder had destroyed their own mansion in a battle against the New Mutants. Until construction of the new mansion was complete, Professor Xavier and his students had relocated to the research facility on Muir Island, off the Scottish coast, and the X-Men had temporarily moved to San Francisco.

As her booted feet touched the damp grass, Rogue instinctively knew she was not alone. Wolverine was reclining on a bench in a secluded corner of the garden. Rogue had no idea what a bench was doing in Jessica's garden, but in a garden this size it hardly seemed inappropriate. Unlike Rogue, Wolverine was not in costume. He was wearing a red and black checked-shirt and faded jeans. He was smoking a large cigar. With his fast healing powers, smoking was definitely not hazardous to his health. Rogue often wondered if someone ought to tell him about the dangers of passive smoking to everyone else, though.

'Hiya, shugah, you're up late, aintcha?' she commented in her southern drawl.

Without glancing at his watch, Wolverine replied, 'Surely it's early by now, and I could ask the same question.' 

'Ah needed to get some thinkin' done,' Rogue murmured, unable to look at Wolverine directly.

'Bad memories, huh?' Wolverine nodded understandingly. 'My past ain't pretty either.'

'It's this place,' Rogue confided. 'In New York it ain't so bad, but here here ah can't help remembering.'

'This is were it happened, ain't it.' It was a statement, not a question. 'That's the most difficult place in the world to be. Why do you think I don't go up to Canada no more?'

Rogue actually managed a weak smile at that. 'Of all the places the X-Men could have moved to it had to be 'Frisco, didn't it.' She tried to make a joke out of it, but doubted she could conceal the pain, particularly from someone as observant as Wolverine.

Wolverine laughed with her, briefly. Then he became serious again. 'Look, kid, why don't you take a vacation,' he suggested. 'Or if you still want to help out, go and join Charley and the kids on Muir Island. Just get away for a bit. Storm'll understand.'

'Thanks, shugah, it's nice to know yah care,' Rogue assured him, 'but ah'm an X-Man now and this is where ah belong.'

'I hope so, kid,' Wolverine murmured as he watched Rogue go inside to catch a few hours sleep. 'I hope so.'

* * *

Taking a long drag on his cigar, Wolverine tilted his head back to look at the stars. They were mostly obscured because of the ambient light from the city, but he thought he could just make out the white smudge of the Milky Way. _I'm hardly the sentimental type, _Wolverine mused, _but even I have to admit it looks beautiful tonight_. His reverie was interrupted by the arrival of a pale purple cloud, accompanied by a _bamf_ sound and the smell of brimstone.

'Stargazing, _mein freund_?' Nightcrawler asked as he emerged from the cloud. If Wolverine was fazed by the teleporter's sudden appearance, he didn't show it.

'I guess so, elf,' he replied. 'I'm a little distracted tonight.'

From the garden, they watched as the light in Rogue's room came on and then shut off again after only a few minutes.

'There is one troubled young lady, _nein_?' Nightcrawler commented to his companion.

'You can say that again,' Wolverine agreed. 'She doesn't deserve to carry that sort of weight on her shoulders at that age.'

'Or at any other age,' Nightcrawler added. 'We all carry our own pains, _Herr _Logan.'

'Yeah, but at least I can confront my problems face to face.' Wolverine illustrated his point by extending his adamantium claws with a _snikt_ and then retracting them just as quickly. 'She just has to live with hers. As do you. It can't be easy, looking the way you do.'

'Too true,' Nightcrawler said, 'but I would much rather have my condition than hers. To never be able to touch another living being. That truly is a curse.'

'You're right about that. The kid'll always be isolated, even among friends.'

'And now must be the worst time of all,' Nightcrawler continued. 'She is a very attractive young woman, or had you not noticed, _mein freund_?'

'Oh, I'd noticed alright,' Wolverine replied with a wry smile. 'I'm surprised you had though, elf.'

'Just because I look like a monster does not mean that I cannot appreciate beauty when I see it in others,' Nightcrawler said. 'But you have not spent the night sitting in the garden worrying about Rogue's problems, have you?'

'Nope, you're right there,' Wolverine muttered.

There was a moment of silence.

'Well?' Nightcrawler prompted.

Wolverine did not reply, at least not verbally. Instead, he handed Nightcrawler the manila folder lying next to him.

'The Dark Phoenix file,' Nightcrawler gasped in astonishment.

'I had Xavier send it over from the island,' Wolverine explained.

'You worry about Rachel,' Nightcrawler surmised. 'She is her mother's daughter, after all.'

'Jean became the Phoenix to save us,' Wolverine said, 'and it consumed her. We should have been able to help. We were her friends, weren't we?'

'There was nothing that could be done,' Nightcrawler assured him. 'Jean Grey gave her life voluntarily.'

It was true enough, but Nightcrawler suspected that she had not really had a choice in the matter. At least, not if she was a true X-Man. The Phoenix had been an extra-dimensional entity, the guardian of the M'Kraan crystal. In order to save the universe it had attained physical form by bonding with Jean Grey, a powerful telepath. Once the threat had passed, however, it had refused to depart, revelling in emotions it had never before experienced. It had wrought chaos and destruction across the galaxy. In the end, Jean had separated herself from the Phoenix by the only method she knew. She had killed herself.

'I should have been able to save her,' Wolverine whispered. His love for Jean ran deep. In the end, Scott Summers, the X-Man known as Cyclops, had won her heart. But Wolverine had never stopped loving her. 

'I owe it to her to protect Rachel,' he continued, 'but if we couldn't save Jean how can we hope to help the kid?'

'In Rachel's universe, her mother was able to control the powers of the Phoenix,' Nightcrawler said. 'With our help, perhaps Rachel can do the same.'

'Perhaps,' Wolverine muttered. Rachel came from the early twenty-first century of an alternate universe. In that universe, Jean Grey had mastered her powers and she and Cyclops had married. Rachel was their daughter. By mutual consent of all the X-Men, this information had been kept from their Cyclops.

'We'd better be able to help her, elf,' Wolverine said, 'because if we can't, I'm not sure we'd be able to stop her.'

'You'll find a way to help her, _mein freund_,' Nightcrawler said. 'Of all of us here, you have been an X-Man the longest. If anyone can help Rachel, it is you.'

It was true. Wolverine had not been a member of the first team of X-Men: Beast, Ice-Man, Angel, Jean Grey and Cyclops. He was, however, one of the group's earliest members. Now that Cyclops had taken a leave of absence to spend some time with his wife, Madeleine Pryor, Wolverine was certainly the most experienced of the current team of X-Men. But he disliked responsibility. He had turned down the position of team leader on more than one occasion. _Why, then, do I feel so responsible for the girl? Surely she's Storm's concern?_ But he already knew the answer. _I owe you this one, Jean, and I'll protect your daughter no matter what._ Inwardly, he doubted he could keep that promise.

* * *

In her bedroom, Rachel Summers was oblivious to all that was being said about her. She was having a nightmare. She was twisting and turning on the small single-bed, her hands raised as if to protect her face. The sheet that had been covering her lay on the floor in a tightly packed ball. With the window wide open, Rachel was protected from the elements only by a large, flimsy 'I Love New York' T-shirt. She neither knew nor cared.

In her mind, she was back in her own time, in a subway beneath the city of New York. The anti-mutant riots were in full swing. The X-Men had been imprisoned in a high security internment centre. Now they were making their escape. As she watched, Sentinel robots, huge machines designed simply to eradicate all mutant life, prised open the roof of the subway with thick metal fingers. Franklin Richards, her best friend, was lagging behind the rest of the X-Men. Rachel turned to help him. Sentinels vaporised him before her eyes.

The ensuing chase beneath the city was a blur. Rachel buried her tear-streaked face in the arms of Kitty Pride, better known as Ariel, as they ran. Storm led the way. Colossus, carrying an injured Rogue, followed. Wolverine brought up the rear. They were all that remained of the once mighty team of X-Men. Everyone else was dead. Hunted down and murdered. Finally they reached the Baxter Building, former headquarters of the Fantastic Four. Here the X-Men made their last stand. One by one, the Sentinels cut them down. One moment there were six of them, then only Kitty and Rachel remained. In a last desperate act, Kitty Pride hurled Rachel back in time and across dimensions, hoping to send her to a more peaceful world. Rachel's last memory was of the ultimate Sentinel, Nimrod, ending Kitty's life. With extreme prejudice.

* * *

It was 8:31 A.M. when Jessica Drew finally decided to get out of bed. That was what the clock by her bed told her, anyway. _One advantage_, she mused as she made her way over to the wardrobe, _of running your own business is that you can afford to give yourself flexible hours_. Besides, a private investigator hardly got a consistent volume of work. Jessica paused in front of the wardrobe. It was big. Much bigger than the standard sized wardrobes you got by mail order. She had specifically gone looking for a large wardrobe. She remembered an enjoyable day, not long ago, which she had dedicated entirely to searching the city for a wardrobe big enough for her. As she pondered the monstrosity before her, she reflected that even this probably was not large enough for her needs. 

With a resigned sigh, she flung open the wardrobe's doors. As usual, the first thing that caught her eye was her old Spider-Woman costume. She lifted it out of the wardrobe and lay it on the bed for a better look. It was a one-piece affair, with an attached cowl mask, done in red, with a pair of gold diamonds, supposed to represent a spider, across the chest. Her figures brushed the fabric, gingerly, as if it might disintegrate when touched. She treated it reverently, like an ancient relic. It was her one remaining link with her superheroine past.

'Regrets?' Jessica looked up and saw Storm, in a dressing gown, standing in the doorway.

'Always and never,' Jessica replied. 'At times I remember what a hassle it was to be a superhero, always expected to help, regardless of circumstance. At other times, I miss it like crazy.' 

'I know how you feel,' Storm consoled.

'I'll bet you do,' Jessica agreed.

Not too long ago, Storm had lost her powers when she had been struck by a ray, intended for Rogue, fired by the notorious mutant-hater Henry Peter Gyrich. She continued to lead the X-Men, the team would not have it any other way, but she often felt more of a hindrance than a help nowadays.

'When I had them, I felt my powers were a curse,' Storm explained. 'I always had to keep my emotions in check, lest I drive the weather out of control. I felt that I could never truly express my feelings. I thought I'd be glad to see my powers gone.'

'But you're not, are you?' Jessica asked. 'You feel incomplete without them.'

'Too true,' Storm agreed. 'You never realise how valuable something is to you until it's gone. What is Storm without her weather powers? With them I was a goddess. Now I'm just plain Ororo Monroe.'

'Take it from me,' Jessica assured her, 'to the X-Men, you'll always be Storm.'

'I wish I had your faith, Jessica,' Storm replied, 'but how long will it be before I place the X-Men in danger? If they've always got to protect me, how long will it be before they realise that they're better off without me?'

'You'll face that problem when it arises, and not before. I know you, Ororo, and I know you'll come through with flying colours.' Jessica went back over to the wardrobe. 'Now, what do you think? This skirt or that one?'

* * *

While the others spent the early morning relaxing, the youngest X-Man was already hard at work. Kitty Pride, the X-Man formerly known as Ariel and now referred to as Shadowcat, may have come all the way from New York to join the rest of the X-Men, but Magneto insisted that she keep up with her studies. And so, every morning, she found herself in San Francisco's main library, buried in books. She did not mind too much, though. She enjoyed her studies and liked reading. Her mutant powers were not the only things that set her apart from her fellow students.

She may have publicly come to San Francisco to be with the X-Men, but privately there was another reason behind her desire to leave New York. Recently, she had been the victim of an anti-mutant assault. No, assault was too weak a word; it had been an attempted murder. Had not Rachel and Magneto intervened, she felt sure she would be dead now. Worse, even, than the attempt on her life itself, the assault had been carried out by a group of her fellow students. People she knew. People she had considered friends. She did not know whom to trust anymore. She no longer felt welcome in her own home city.

So she had jumped at the chance to get away for an unspecified period of time. It gave her a chance to put some distance between herself and the immediate problem while she tried to put the issue into perspective within her own mind. Was this how it was always going to be? She did not want to be an outcast, hunted and hated. Up until recently she had enjoyed her life. She was having fun. She had lots of friends (people said that she was an extremely likeable young woman). She even had a somewhat serious relationship with Peter Rasputin, Colossus (though if she heard one more rumour regarding marriage proposals she was going to scream). And, perhaps best of all, she was a superhero. She had powers that made her special. She was different from ordinary people and it was a great feeling. 

At least it had been. Now, though, she was not so sure. Were her powers going to ruin her life forever? She was a sociable girl, but how could she have a social life when her own friends wanted her dead. Was she destined to become part of some oppressed minority? She certainly did not want that. She had her whole life ahead of her and it was one that she intended to make the most of. But how could she do that if she was hated and feared by everyone she met? Were her powers more of a curse than a blessing? And, if so, what could she possibly do about it? She was not prepared to give up her powers, but neither was she going to cut herself off from the rest of the world. Somewhere there had to be a compromise she could reach. She only had to work out what it was.

For now, though, that problem would have to wait. She had an organic chemistry text to read. She watched as the diagrams of aromatic hydrocarbons blurred before her eyes. She yawned, shook herself and then yawned again. She had spent the night worrying and, as a result, had not got much sleep. Exhaustion, unsatisfied with the night's rest, was taking its revenge. _Well girl_, she thought, _you're no use to anybody in this state. You need to wake yourself up a little. Maybe if you go for a walk-_

**Kitty!**

The voice rang in her head with incredible volume. Kitty was so surprised that she phased right through her chair and ended up on the floor. Fortunately, nobody else in the library had noticed. Recovering her wits, and her composure (if not her pride), Kitty wondered who could be communicating with her telepathically.

**Kitty, it's me, Illyana.**

_Well, that answers that question_, Kitty thought. Illyana, alias the New Mutant called Magik, was on Muir island, but she and Kitty shared a bond that allowed them to communicate telepathically. Illyana had been Kitty's roommate back in New York. She was also Colossus' sister.

**Kitty, you're in terrible danger. ****_Something _****is on the loose in San Francisco.**

When Illyana said some_thing_ she meant it. As well as being a mutant teleporter, Illyana Rasputin was also a demon sorceress and queen of a magical domain she called Limbo. The _things_ she talked about could only be monsters from another dimension.

_And I thought I was going to get a bit of piece and quiet to sort out my problems_, Kitty mused. _As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now there's a demon come to call._


	2. Two

Chapter Two - FIREBALL

The waters of the bay gleamed by the light of the early morning sun. There was not a cloud in the sky. A seagull, perched on the bright red supports of the Golden Gate suspension bridge, suddenly took to the air and, with a cry, headed eastward. As it did, it passed over the an island in the bay – Treasure Island. It was an apt name, for the current inhabitants of the island were certainly after riches. One of them was watching the seagull's progress, aided by an antique brass telescope.

'Good morning, Isabelle,' a man called to her. He was tall, with blond hair and a narrow moustache. Isabelle was also a blonde, though her hair fell halfway down her back in rivulets. She was wearing a lime green bikini and sandals. 'You ought to put something on over that, my dear,' the man commented. 'You know how easily you burn.'

Isabelle pouted unhappily at him, but hurried inside all the same.

'Quite a lovely young girl you have there,' commented a gravelly-voiced man, sitting in the shade of a tree. 'I do hope you're intending to share, Tomas.'

'You'll keep your chubby little hands off her, Caven, if you know what's good for you,' Tomas replied in a rich baritone. 'Beautiful she may be, but she's here for her talent.' 

'And besides,' Caven added, barely suppressing a chuckle, 'you want her all for yourself.'

Tomas laughed. 'That may be, Caven,' he replied, 'but would you care to fight me for her?'

'Oh no,' Caven replied. 'I, a mere seer, naturally bow to your superiority in the matter of combat magic.'

'And so you should, Caven, so you should.' Tomas eyed his chubby companion with good-humoured disdain. 'But neither of us is a conjurer.'

'And that is where darling Isabelle comes in,' Caven concluded. 'She'd better be as good as you say, Tomas. I have a lot riding on this.'

'Oh, don't worry, my fat friend, she is,' Tomas assured him. 'And if you want proof, just wait until tonight.' 

* * *

A few blocks further from the bay, Magneto sat with Storm in a crowded café. A cafetiere of strong black coffee stood on the table between them, as did two steaming cups of the same substance. Magneto, wearing a dark suit and navy blue tie, sipped from his cup, never taking his eyes off Storm. She did the same.

'So,' she said, 'what news from Professor Xavier?'

Magneto replaced his cup on its saucer and steepled his fingers. 'The students have settled in nicely on the island,' he began. 'Construction of the new mansion has already begun. Charles asked me to tell you that your suggested improvements have been incorporated into the new design.'

'That's reassuring to hear,' Storm said. 'Our defences have been breached once too often in the past six months.'

'I concur,' Magneto replied, 'and so, obviously, does Xavier. There is, however, something in his latest message that troubles me.'

'Oh,' Storm asked, 'how so?'

'He is worried for us,' Magneto began, hesitantly. 'He senses great danger in our vicinity, though he knows not what that danger may be. That coupled with a spate of disturbing dreams coming to Illyana Rasputin suggests something is afoot.'

'Surely a child's dreams are no cause for panic on our part?' Storm said.

'Perhaps not,' Magneto agreed, 'but do not forget that this child is also queen of an entire extra-dimensional realm. Her powers of prescience cannot be lightly ignored.'

'True,' Storm replied. 'So, what do you suggest we do?'

Magneto smiled. 'You are our leader. The decision is yours.'

Storm grimaced. 'Sometimes, Magneto, I really hate you.'

'Only sometimes?' Magneto asked, feigning surprise.

Storm ignored him. 'If we knew what the danger was it would help. If it's a threat to the X-Men alone then we should leave the city. We merely bring the danger upon the people of San Francisco if we stay. On the other hand, if it's a threat to the city, we can hardly abandon these people to face it alone.'

'So, what is your verdict?' Magneto asked.

'We stay,' Storm replied, 'at least until we know what the danger really is. Then we can take it from there. Oh, and Magneto, not a word of this to the others. No sense worrying them until we know precisely what we're dealing with.'

'Understood,' Magneto replied. 'I was about to suggest the very same thing myself.'

*** * ***

By mid-afternoon, traffic in the city was horrendous and so Jessica Drew had decided to leave her car at work and take the bus in to the centre. Work at the office today was practically non-existent, so after sending her secretary home, she had decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. It had been like this for a few days now. She had always been thrifty when it came to money, so there was no immediate cause for financial concern, but if this present drought of work continued, she might have to look for a new job. There was not even a wandering cat that needed to be found. Still, the X-Men had promised to clean up the city during their stay; perhaps they were looking after the lost cats.

She had become so engrossed in a well-thumbed paperback, one of _Zola'_s novels, that she almost missed her stop. She hopped out on to the street just as the doors were sliding closed again. The driver gave her a nasty look and she smiled sweetly back at him. _Am I really not allowed to leave the train when the doors are closing, sir?_ He turned his back on her and Jessica headed for the stairs with a sigh. It was going to be one of those days. 

A few minutes later, Zola stowed safely in her handbag, she emerged into the sunlight. She paused for a moment to appreciate the freedom of the open air. Subways always made her feel slightly claustrophobic. She turned abruptly, heading for the nearest shopping centre, and almost knocked a passer-by off her feet in the process. At first, she did not realise who it was.

'I'm so sorry,' Jessica protested. 'Are you all right.'

'Yes, I'm fine, thank you,' the woman replied.

Realisation dawned on Jessica. 'Rachel, is that you? What are you doing here?'

'I just needed some fresh air,' Rachel insisted. 

'If you want fresh air, you've come to the wrong place,' Jessica jokingly began. Then she noticed Rachel's eyes. 'Rachel, what's the matter? What's upset you? Come on, let's find somewhere to have a drink and we can talk about it. Okay?' 

The pair ended up either side of a plastic table in _MacDonalds_. It was a place Jessica normally would not be seen dead in, but it had been the closest place where she and Rachel could sit down. 

'Rachel,' she began and then stopped, unsure of what to say next. _Might as well get straight to the point, I suppose, _she thought. 'Rachel, what's the matter? What's troubling you?'

'I'm scared, Jessica,' the teenager replied. 

'Scared?' Jessica asked. 'What of?'

'The Phoenix,' Rachel said. 'Myself.' 

'But why?' Jessica persisted. 'What is it about her that scares you?'

'I've got all this power,' Rachel explained, 'but what happens if I can't control it?'

'You haven't shown any problems with it so far,' Jessica commented.

'Haven't I?' asked Rachel. 'Where I come from, mutants are hated and hunted. I hated the people who hunted mutants as much as they hated me. What happens if I turn my anger on the innocent by accident?'

'Is that likely?' Jessica inquired.

'When Kitty was assaulted recently, I attacked her assailants,' Rachel said. 'I almost killed them.'

'But you didn't, Rachel,' Jessica assured her.

'Only because Magneto intervened,' Rachel commented. 'And that was without my phoenix powers. If I ever let rip like that again, people will die.'

'Then you'll just have to control your power,' Jessica told her. 'You can do it, Rachel.'

'My mom couldn't,' Rachel replied, 'at least, not in your world.'

'And in your world she could,' Jessica riposted. 'You have friends here who understand your problems and who want to help you, if you'll let them. If you really want to beat this thing, you can do it.'

'But what if I can't?' Rachel demanded angrily. She lashed out, but not physically. A telekinetic fist crushed the plastic cup on the table between them. 'What if I lose it again.'

Jessica took the girl's hand in her own. 'That's not an option, Rachel,' she said. 'You'll see.'

* * *

Peter Rasputin sat on a bench in Golden Gate Park watching the ducks swimming in a fountain. He wished that he had brought some bread along so that he could feed them while he waited. Kitty was notorious for being late. It was one of the things he loved about her, though he could not fathom why. As it happened, he did not have to wait long. Kitty came running through the park a mere five minutes past their arranged rendezvous time. She had even thought to bring half a loaf of bread for the ducks.

'Did you tell them?' Peter asked Kitty as he removed a slice of bread from the bag and began tearing it into chunks.

'Of course I told them, stupid,' Kitty replied with a grin.

'Jest checking,' Peter assured her. After her telepathic message from Illyana, Kitty had confided in Peter first. He had told her to go and tell the rest of the X-Men. Peter knew his sister, and she did not send telepathic messages halfway around the world without a very good reason.

'Strange thing though,' Kitty continued as she hurled a piece of bread into the fountain, 'Maggie didn't seem at all surprised at the news.'

'Well, you know Magneto,' Peter said. 'Always likes to keep his true feelings well hidden.'

'Yeah, I guess.' Kitty still sounded sceptical. 

'I wish Lockheed were here,' Peter said as the pair continued to bombard the ducks. 'He'd love this.'

'He'd probably eat the ducks,' Kitty commented. 'Anyway, he's probably best left at home. I dread to think how people around here would react to a real live dragon flying around.' 

'Even if he is only a small one?' Peter asked. Lockheed was only a few feet from head to tail.

'Even if he is only a small one,' Kitty confirmed.

They sat in silence for some time, feeding the ducks. At length, Kitty said, 'Peter, don't you ever wish that you weren't a mutant.

'Yes,' he replied, 'then I could still be working on a farm in Siberia. Seriously, no I do not. I like having my powers and most of all, I like having the chance to help people.'

'Even if those people don't want your help?' Kitty asked.

'Ah, _tovarisch_, this is about those students at E.S.U.' Peter surmised.

'I thought they were my friends, Peter,' Kitty explained. 'Are people always going to hate me?'

'Human beings fear what they do not understand,' Peter said, 'and they hate what they fear.'

'You're just quoting Xavier,' Kitty complained.

'Yes, I suppose I am,' Peter admitted, 'but I've known the professor longer than you have and he has yet to tell me anything that was not true.'

'Doesn't it bother you,' Kitty asked, 'being hated by anyone who isn't a mutant?'

'Not as much as you might think, Kitty,' Peter replied. 'Even before I discovered I was a mutant, I had few friends. Now, the X-Men are all the friends I need.'

'I wish it were as easy for me, Peter,' Kitty confessed, 'but I like having lots of friends around. I don't want to be isolated from the rest of the world. I'm not sure I could live like that.'

* * *

The sun cut its path in the sky overhead and the people of San Francisco continued their lives oblivious to the problems of the city's newest super-powered inhabitants. By late evening, the fashionable restaurants of the bay area were already packed to capacity. In a booth in _Maxwell's_, one of the city's better seafood eateries, two of the X-Men were relaxing over a lavish meal.

'So, what's the occasion, shugah?' Rogue asked Wolverine.

'Well, last night you looked like you could use some cheering up,' Wolverine explained.

'So you decided to take little ol' me out to dinner,' Rogue concluded. 'How sweet.'

'Actually,' Wolverine admitted, 'it was Kurt's idea.'

'Nightcrawler?' Rogue mused. 'Now what's he up to, ah wonder?'

'Probably trying to make fools out of us both,' Wolverine commented.

'Well, I still think it's sweet,' Rogue affirmed, flashing Wolverine a smile.

'Least I could do,' Wolverine muttered, 'for a friend.'

'You know something, Wolvie, you've got a great big heart beneath that brash exterior of yours.' She reached out a gloved hand to stroke her companions arm. 'We should do this more often, you and I.'

'Yeah, maybe,' Wolverine stammered. His embarrassment was twofold, not only because Rogue was so obviously flirting with him, but also because he knew that her actions merely covered up the loneliness her mutant power forced upon her. His discomfort was cut short, however, by a large explosion that rocked the restaurant and shattered all the windows. 

'What the hell was that?' he shouted.

' Let's go and find out,' Rogue replied, grabbing Wolverine about the waist and carrying him up and out of the building using the flying powers stolen from the late Ms Marvel.

The sight that greeted them out side of the restaurant almost caused Rogue to drop Wolverine in surprise. A massive fireball was charging through the city. Everything in its path was utterly consumed.


	3. Three

Chapter Three - HATE

Wolverine shed the jacket of his suit as soon as Rogue had put him back on the ground. He wanted the extra freedom of movement, though he had no idea how to engage a fireball in a fistfight. Rogue was making similar preparations, tearing her dress so that it now ended above the knee. She hovered next to him, her feet about a foot above the street. Around them, people ran for their lives away from the burning mass of destruction. Wolverine and Rogue stood their ground, a living barrier to the fireball's progress. Not that either of them felt that it would do much good.

'So what's the plan, Wolvie?' Rogue asked, running a hand through her skunk-streaked hair. 

Wolverine scowled. He was not a natural leader and hated being treated like one. 'I ain't got a clue, darlin',' he admitted. He extended his claws. 'Somehow I doubt these are gonna do any good.'

'With Storm's powers, she could have dealt with that critter' Rogue tailed off. 'But now, I don't see what we can do.'

'What we must,' said a voice from the heavens. 'That is what the X-Men have always done.'

Storm descended from the sky to land beside her companions. She had been held aloft by the powers of Magneto, who had also brought Nightcrawler with them.

'We came as soon as we heard,' the master of magnetism said. 'What on Earth is that thing.'

'I don't think it has anything to do with Earth, sir.' Shadowcat and Colossus rounded the corner at the end of the street and hurried to join their team-mates. 'I'll bet that's the thing that Illyana was trying to warn me about,' Kitty continued.

'Demonic, eh?' Magneto mused.

'I think the kid's right, Maggie,' Wolverine agreed. 'It sure smells like nothing I smelled before.'

Kitty bridled at being called a kid, but appreciated the elder X-Man's support.

'Whatever its origins,' Storm interjected, 'it appears to manifest itself as the province of fire. Kurt, find Rachel and bring her here. The powers of the Phoenix may assist us.'

Wolverine nodded approvingly as Nightcrawler disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Phoenix was primarily a psionic entity, but she had shown influence over fire before now. If they could only contain the blaze, then the local fire department could finish it off. If.

Unfortunately, Wolverine could see one major flaw in the plan. A couple of strides took him over to where Storm and Magneto were standing. As he moved, he noticed Rogue, Colossus and Shadowcat gathering together at the side of the street. They appeared to be having an animated discussion, but above the roar of the blaze, even Wolverine could not pick out any words. He turned his attention to the pair in front of him. Storm was tense. She was impatient for Nightcrawler to return, but was doing her best to hide it. Magneto was a portrait of calm as usual. Wolverine found the former villain impossible to read and normally that would bother him immensely. Magneto, however, had proved his loyalty to the X-Men many times over the past few months and that was more than enough for the feral mutant. If Magneto wanted to keep secrets, that was his business. Hell, Wolverine had enough skeletons in his own closet. So long as Magneto remained on the side of the angels, he could count Wolverine as an ally.

'What's the matter, 'roro?' he asked his friend. Storm was no use to the X-Men coiled like a spring as she was. And in this situation, Storm was possibly their greatest asset.

'I just feel souseless,' Storm admitted. 'If I still had my powers the blaze would be out by now.'

'It's hardly your fault Gyrich blasted you with his gadget,' Wolverine commented. 'If it hadn't been for you, Rogue would've been the one who got zapped.'

'Yes, and she would probably have thanked me for it,' Storm snapped.

'You don't mean that, Ororo,' Wolverine growled, his voice just above a whisper.

'You are right, Logan, I do not,' Storm admitted, dispelling the tension with a shake of her head. 'I just cannot stand being helpless. Even on the streets of Cairo I had skills I could rely on.' Orphaned as a child, Ororo had spent her formative years surviving as a pickpocket in Egypt's capital.

'You're not helpless, 'roro,' Wolverine assured her. 'You're still the best leader the X-Men have ever had. Believe me, we'd be completely lost without you. You've got something none of us can hope to imitate. You can look at a problem and instantly see what needs to be done; you've proved yourself more times than I care to count. Never doubt yourself, girl, you're the most valuable member of the team and don't you forget it.'

'Wolverine is absolutely right, Storm,' Magneto agreed. 'We need your wisdom now more than ever.'

'What's the world comin' to,' Wolverine muttered. 'Me and the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants agreeing on something. I think I'll just go and curl up an' die.'

Storm grinned. Despite its more sinister beginnings, Wolverine and Magneto's verbal sparring was now just a bit of fun. 'Thanks,' she said, 'both of you.'

'Whatever.' Wolverine shrugged. 'Are you sure Rachel's up to this. We still don't know if she can control her power.'

'To be honest,' Storm admitted, 'I really do not know. Rachel does, however, have a better chance than any of us at controlling that thing, whatever it may be. It is the best plan I can think of.'

Wolverine nodded. 'That's all I needed to know.'

A cloud of pungent purple smoke heralded Nightcrawler's return. 'Sorry we took so long,' Nightcrawler sighed wearily. Then he collapsed. Wolverine rushed to his side, but the German mutant waved away his assistance. 'I'll be alright in a minute,' he assured his colleague, 'I just need a chance to get my breath back.' Wolverine simply nodded. He knew how difficult it was for Nightcrawler to teleport others. He also knew how the knowledge never caused Nightcrawler to shirk his duty.

Rachel had gone straight to Storm and was being told exactly what was expected of her. The young girl nervously ran her hands through her short red hair. 'I don't know if this will work,' she said, 'but I'm ready to give it a go.'

Storm nodded and rested a hand on the youngster's shoulder. 'Good luck,' she said.

'Luck has very little to do with it,' Rachel replied, flashing a lop-sided grin. It reminded Wolverine, painfully, of the girl's mother. 'You'd all better stand well back,' Rachel continued. 'Things are going to get very hot around here very soon.' 

'Not me darlin',' Wolverine replied. 'A little heat won't bother the ol' Canucklehead and you could do with some support.' _Besides, _he thought, _I owe it to Jeannie to watch out for you_.

Rachel acknowledged his decision and then turned to face the slowly advancing fireball. Wolverine would burn just as easily as anyone else, but his mutant healing factor should give him the chance to recover. The pain would still be excruciating, though. Still, it was his decision and Rachel had too much respect for him to try and talk him out of it.

'Ready?' Wolverine asked when the others had all retreated to a safe distance. Rachel nodded.

She spread her arms above her head and screamed. Gradually the pitch of the scream got higher and higher until it passed from the vocal range to the psionic. At this point, a shape began to blossom out of Rachel's back. Slowly it grew to the size of a man. It looked like a giant bird, a bird of fire. This was the Phoenix. Gradually it expanded, swelling to mammoth proportions. It appeared to defy the laws of physics by fitting into a space to small to accommodate it. Then the screaming stopped. 

Rachel stretched out her left hand towards the fireball. The Phoenix twitched in anticipation. An amphora of blazing white energy coalesced in Rachel's hand. The girl, now one with the energies of the cosmic entity, gently caressed the vase. An arc leapt from her hands to the approaching menace. Rachel's back arched and she cried out in pain. The Phoenix and the fireball were now one.

Rachel's eyes glazed over. She let her eyelids flutter close. When she opened them again, her eyes were blazing pools of white flame. 'Now,' she murmured in a voice not her own. The link between her and the fireball quivered. Energy pulsed down the coruscating chain. Rachel/Phoenix moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and cried out in pleasure.

'Rachel,' Storm screamed, 'stop! You're strengthening the fireball, not draining it.'

Rachel/Phoenix seemed oblivious to her leader's pleas. 

'Wolverine,' Storm and Magneto shouted together, 'stop her!'

Wolverine grunted. His clothing was ablaze and his hair had all but burnt away. His flesh was blistered and scarred. Despite it all, he had managed to find a level of consciousness that transcended the pain. Those years spent studying with a ninja master had paid off. 

'Sorry, darlin',' he cried, bringing his hands down in a blow across Rachel's shoulders. She collapsed unconscious and the Phoenix entity dissipated.

As the smoke cleared, the other X-Men had already clustered round.

'Remind me not to try that again,' Wolverine complained, nursing a badly burned hand. His hair was literally growing back before their eyes and his flesh was losing its pinkish hue. 'Shame the healing factor doesn't repair clothes,' he commented, accepting Magneto's proffered coat.

'Well, that didn't work did it,' Nightcrawler said, never afraid to state the obvious. 'What do we do now?'

'I do not know,' Storm admitted. 'Has anyone else got any ideas?' 

'Kitty thought of something,' Rogue piped up. 'We were discussing it earlier on.'

Shadowcat looked up from were she was examining Rachel's condition. 'I didn't want to mention it before because it's so dangerous,' she explained.

'We don't have a lot of choice at the moment,' Magneto replied. 'Let's here it.'

Shadowcat explained her plan indicating what she wanted Rogue and Colossus to do.

'You are right,' Storm agreed, 'it is dangerous. Colossus, are you certain you wish to try this.'

'I have been in life-threatening situations before, Storm,' he said, 'we all have. And it is our only option.'

'Very well,' Storm replied. 'Rogue, you may begin when you are ready.'

Rogue wrapped her arms around Colossus's waist. 'I hope Kitty don't mind me carrying a big Russian hunk like you away with me,' she drawled, ''cause I know I sure don't.' 

Without another word, the pair took to the air. Magneto sat, cross-legged, on the ground. He frowned and beads of sweat formed on his brow. He was clearly concentrating deeply.

'What's up, Maggie,' Wolverine asked.

'If this goes wrong,' Magneto replied, 'I may be the only person who can pull Colossus out of there, but if I hesitate at all then it will no longer matter. Now, if you don't mind, I would appreciate some quiet.'

Rogue and Colossus were now approaching the zenith of their flight. They were directly above the fireball.

'Now, _tovarisch_!' Colossus shouted. Rogue dropped him. As he fell, Colossus drew upon his mutant power, turning his body into a form of organic steel. Many observers believed that the change went only skin deep, that there was still flesh and blood beneath the armoured shell. Colossus knew better. Every fibre of his being was now the same dense metallic substance.

'For Kitty and Illyana,' he screamed as he penetrated the flaming sphere.

'Lenin's ghost,' he spat as he hit the ground. The fireball had dispersed as soon as he had touched it. The danger was no more.

'It seems you were right, Katya,' he said as Shadowcat raced forward to embrace him.

'Hey, it's you're sister's influence, not me,' Shadowcat replied. 'She's the one who taught me that iron disrupts magic. Guess the same holds true for organic steel.'

Wolverine could here sirens in the distance. 'Police,' he warned Storm. 'It's about time they showed up.'

'Do not be too hard on them, Logan,' Storm replied. 'They were probably held up by the devastation. Still, it would be better if we were not here when they arrived.'

'Yes,' Magneto agreed. 'Despite their noble deeds the X-Men do not have a lily-white reputation as far as the public is concerned.'

'You almost sound pleased about that, Maggie,' Wolverine growled.

'Enough, both of you,' Storm snapped. 'Start looking for some transportation for the team.

With a screech of brakes, a car swerved into the street behind them. Jessica Drew stepped out. 'Anyone need a lift?' she asked. The X-Men piled in.

'Let's go,' Wolverine ordered.

'Yes, sir.' Jessica offered a mock salute and was rewarded by a snarl from Logan.

They accelerated down the street, but Jessica was forced to break suddenly. Two police cars blocked the street. 'Damn,' she swore.

'Back the way we came,' Wolverine suggested.

'No good,' Jessica replied, glancing in her mirrors. 'It's blocked that way as well.'

'Allow me,' Magneto offered. As he spoke, the car levitated into the air and continued on its way high above the streets of San Francisco. 'Impressive, isn't it?' He grinned.

'Just don't damage the car,' Jessica warned him. 'It was expensive.'

* * *

Ororo Munroe tugged a robe on over her nightdress as she made her way down to the dining room. Magnus was already eating breakfast, dressed, as always, in an immaculate dark suit. It was details like that that really got on Ororo's nerves. Why should she have to suffer the indignity of looking like a hedge had attacked her during the night when he could put Greek statues to shame? Life just was not fair sometimes. Correction, life was not fair most of the time, at least as far as Ororo was concerned. With a sigh she flicked her white hair, cut into a Mohawk, out of her eyes and collapsed in one of the wooden chairs surrounding the large table. Magnus poured her a large cup of strong black coffee while she helped herself to French toast.

'So, you had a hard time sleeping as well,' Magnus said.

'Is it that obvious?' Ororo asked, knowing that it was. _Damn, not only can he look the picture of sophistication, but he can do it without sleep as well_.

'I take it we were both worrying about the same thing,' her companion continued.

'That is hardly a surprise,' Ororo replied. 'Since the Beyonder and the Sentinels, we have had precious little to concern us.'

'And now this,' Magnus prompted.

'And now this,' she agreed, refusing to elaborate until she had consumed at least one cup of coffee.

Logan thumped his way downstairs to join them. He was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans that looked like he had slept in them. Ororo would not have put it past him.

'Good morning, Logan,' Ororo announced. Logan merely grunted in response as he rotated a chair so he could sit on it backwards.

'Would you care to join us for breakfast,' the African continued.

'Already taken care of, _fraulein_,' announced a voice from the kitchen. 'He fences, he teleports, he cooks; is there no end to this man's talents?'

'I assume that was rhetorical, elf,' Logan called back, 'or do you really want me to tell you the answer.'

'Ah, I see you got out of the wrong side of bed this morning, _mein freund_,' the voice floated back. 'It is therefore the duty of Wagner family cuisine to perk you up again. Unless, of course, you would prefer a song?'

'Don't try it, elf, or I promise you'll regret it,' Logan grunted in reply.

'We shall really have to do something about that temper of yours.' Kurt Wagner bounded in carrying three trays of breakfast items, one in each hand and one held by his tail. He was a mutant who certainly felt it was cool to be blue. 'I have just the thing to soothe your soul: muesli, French toast, pancakes and maple syrup, fresh orange juice and, of course, lots of coffee.'

'Pass me the caffeine, elf, before I wring your scrawny blue neck,' Logan ordered.

Kurt grinned as he complied. 'He likes me really,' he confided in the others.

Kitty Pryde dropped through the ceiling and landed gracefully in an empty chair. 'Morning, all,' she said, reaching for the coffeepot. The others acknowledged her, completely unfazed by her showy entrance, a fact that annoyed Kitty somewhat.

'So,' Magnus said to Ororo, 'what are we going to do about last night?'

Ororo steepled her fingers and stared into the middle distance. 'We need more information,' she said. 'Presumably, the police will have already investigated the site. We need to know everything they know.'

'Sounds like a job for me,' Kitty put in between mouthfuls of toast and coffee. The others nodded; Kitty's powers made her an excellent spy, part of the reason behind her choice of code-name. 'I'll just go and change into costume,' she continued, leaving her seat.

'I would rather you did not, Kitty,' Ororo said. 'It would be better if the X-Men were not seen to be involved in this.'

'Okay,' Kitty agreed. 'Save me some lunch, I won't be too long.'

Kitty dashed out and Magneto also rose to leave. 'You are wise to keep the X-Men out of this,' he commented. 'It is possible that the public may react in an-,' he paused, '-unhelpful manner.'

'What's this about keeping the X-Men out of this,' Jessica Drew asked as she came downstairs. 'I think it may be a little late for that.' She switched on the television.

Storm inhaled sharply, her normal calm façade penetrated by the images. Someone had filmed Phoenix and her attempts to stop the fireball. Or not. 

'They're accusing Phoenix of causing the fireball,' Jessica elaborated.

'With some justification,' Logan admitted.

'And by implication,' Ororo commented, 'the X-Men are deemed responsible for the disaster.'

'So now there's more at stake than just the fireball,' Logan said, 'now we have to clear our names.'

'Nothing has changed,' Ororo corrected him. 'We find the people responsible and stop them.'

'I'll call in some favours and see what I can find out,' Jessica assured them.

'Thanks, Jess,' Logan said.

'My pleasure.' Jessica opened the front door. 'See you later.'

'I shall call Charles and appraise him of our situation,' Magnus said.

'Let me know what you discuss,' Ororo replied. 'I'll be out in the garden tending the plants.'

* * *

Logan watched her go and felt a twinge of pity. Ororo had spent years nurturing the plants in her attic at the mansion. With a wave of his hand, the Beyonder had destroyed them all. Soon he and Kurt were the only ones left at the table. 'I'll say this for you, elf,' Logan muttered, 'you can cook.'

'Compliments!' Kurt gasped theatrically. 'Are you sure you are feeling well, _mein freund_.'

'Cut the comedy, misfit, I wanna ask you somethin'.'

'Ask away,' Kurt suggested, steepling his fingers – what few he had – in front of him. 'I assume this has some bearing on the events of last night.'

'Yeah,' Logan drawled, suddenly reluctant to confide in his friend.

'Logan,' Kurt said when he could see further comments were not going to be forthcoming, 'incredibly talented I may be, but I cannot help you if you will not tell me what you want me to do.'

'Ororo and Jessica are good people, elf, but they're way off base if they think they're gonna find any leads on the street,' Logan explained. 'Way I see it, Kitty was right when she said that fireball was magic and that only leaves two explanations. One, we've got one or more rogue magicians runnin' around causing trouble.'

'And the other?' Kurt asked.

'Intentionally or otherwise, Rachel _was_ the cause.'

The two friends considered the possibility for a few moments, neither liking the taste it left behind.

'What would you like me to do,' Kurt asked, his playful manner completely swamped by seriousness.

'Amanda's into all this sorcery and stuff, ain't she,' Logan began.

'If by that you mean is my girlfriend a witch then yes, I would have to agree with you,' Kurt replied. 'I know you're uncomfortable with magic, _mein freund_, but it has been a fact of life for me since childhood. There are more things in heaven and earth, as the Bard put it.'

'Yeah, whatever,' Logan responded. 'Well, if you're so hot on this dungeons and dragons stuff, howsabout you and Amanda figure out what we can do about it.'

'As if I need an excuse to talk to my girlfriend,' Kurt said. 'And in the meantime, you will be looking out for Rachel, I suppose?'

'Yeah,' Logan agreed. 'Just in case.' 

* * *

Kitty Pryde was depressed. She had just taken a peak at the police file for last night's incident and it turned out they knew even less than the X-Men did. Now she was going to have to return empty-handed. She kicked a stone out of her path. She hated being the neophyte. She was convinced that the professor was just looking for an excuse to kick her of the team and back into the X-Babies. According to Illyana, the New Mutants were not so bad, but Kitty was an X-Man. So why was it any time she was given a chance to prove it she fouled up?

Well, no sense in prolonging the agony. She pulled her A to Z from her pocket and consulted it. It looked as if there was a shortcut back to Jessica's house down this way. She started off, lost in her own self-doubt. One chance, that was all she needed. Okay, one more chance, but she _knew_ she could do it. Sure her power may not be as flashy as Nightcrawler's or Wolverine's, but that did not make her any less a hero, did it? Were heroes beaten up by their school friends?

There was a scream from round the corner. Kitty did not hesitate, hurling herself in its direction. A homeless guy was being beaten up on by a gang of youth's with clubs and knives. 

'Hey, leave him alone!' she cried, trying to pull the largest thug away. In the struggle, the wrappings around the victim's face came loose and Kitty could see that he had green skin. They were attacking a mutant.

'Get out of here, sweetheart, if you know what's good for you,' one of the thug's suggested.

'Oh, I don't know, Mickey,' another guy said. 'I'm thinking we could have some fun here.'

'Well, whadya say, honeybunch?' Mikey asked, swinging a knife in her direction.

He expected her to step back, out of the blade's reach. Instead, Kitty did what came naturally and phased. The knife passed right through her face.

'Hey, what is she? Some kind of ghost?'

'Get a grip, Stuey. She's a freak. A mutie freak.'

'Well, in that case, it's up to us to make sure she gets what she deserves.'

Kitty suddenly realised that there were a lot more of them than she has first thought.


	4. Four

Chapter Four - MAGIC

Rachel was not in her room. Logan tasted the air. He could still smell her, but the scent was old. She had been gone for some time. Who knew how much distance she had put between them?

Logan ran down the corridor and started beating on the door to one of the bedrooms.

'Rogue, darlin', wake up. I need your help,' he yelled.

'Go way,' a weak southern-tinged voice called back. 'Too early.'

'Sorry girl, but I need ya to help me track Ray,' Logan replied. With one kick, he knocked the door open, making a mental note to apologise to Jessica next time he saw her. 

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Rogue yelled. She sat bolt upright in her bed, holding her sheet up with one hand to cover herself. Then, seeing who it was, she mellowed. Slightly. 'Aintcha enough of a gentleman to give a gal her beauty sleep?'

'I'm sorry, darlin',' Logan apologised, 'but it's an emergency. Rachel's gone and I'm not fast enough to find her on my own.'

Rogue shrugged resignedly, then smiled at him, her head cocked to one side. 'Well in that case, sugah, will you at least be enough of a gentleman to turn your back while Ah get dressed?'

Logan actually blushed.

* * *

_'Auf Wiedersen, Fraulein_. Take care. I love you too. Bye.' Kurt concluded his telephone conversation.

'Anyone we know?' Ororo asked, having just returned from the garden.

'Amanda,' Kurt replied.

'Ah, that explains the grin splitting your face.' Ororo smiled. 'How is she?'

'Very well,' Kurt responded, a little chagrined that his girlfriend could get by without him. 'Unfortunately, she won't get to spend any time in New York for a few more weeks yet.' Amanda's busy schedule as an Air Stewardess – not to mention Kurt's time-consuming heroics – meant that the two lovers rarely got to spend much time together.

'You will let her know that she is welcome at the mansion any time, won't you,' Ororo said.

'She already knows,' Kurt answered, 'but I prefer to keep her for myself.'

Ororo shook her head. 'Aside from discussing your love-life, did Amanda have any other news you'd like to share?'

'As a matter of fact,' Kurt said, 'she may have given us the break we need to crack our latest problem.'

'Just let me clean up and we'll convene in the lounge to discuss it.'

* * *

'Logan, sugah, I think we're attracting attention.'

Rogue and Logan stood on a street corner, or rather Rogue stood. Logan was on his hands and knees sniffing the pavement.

'How so, darlin'?' Logan asked.

Rogue sighed. 'Beats me.'

Rogue folded her arms across her chest. It had been like this for the past hour. She and Logan would fly in a particular direction until he ordered her to land. Then he spent time sniffing the ground before setting off on a new path. Quite frankly, Rogue was bored.

'Logan,' she said, 'remind me again why we're doing this?'

'We're trying to find where Rachel went,' Logan replied without getting up.

'But why?' Rogue persisted. 'She's a big kid now, she can look after herself.'

'Just humour me, kid, okay?' Logan replied, getting to his feet and brushing dust from his jeans. 'That way next I think.'

'To think I joined the X-Men to become a glorified cab service,' Rogue muttered.

'What was that?' Logan asked, not really paying attention.

'Nothin',' Rogue replied, placing her gloved hands beneath Logan's arms and lifting him high into the sky.

'Look,' Rogue said after they had been flying for a few minutes, 'if you're scared why don't you say so? I won't tell anyone.'

'Scared? I ain't scared.'

'Coulda fooled me,' Rogue persisted. 'Hey you're always telling the rest of us how it's okay to be scared so why not take a bit of your own advice?'

Logan just grunted.

'I just don't see what you've got to be afraid off, is all,' she continued. 'I mean, Phoenix is one of us, isn't she?'

'Why don't you just mind yer own business, kid,' Logan snapped.

'Well, pardon me for breathing,' Rogue retorted. 'I just call 'em like I see 'em. Wonder who I picked that up from?'

'You wouldn't understand,' Logan insisted. 

'Yeah, like I ain't heard that one before.' 

'There's no way you're gonna leave me alone, is there?' Logan said.

'Well, I could drop you,' Rogue replied.

'Very funny, kid. I'm just dyin' with laughter here.' Logan did, however, sport a slight smile. 'Look, I know you weren't here when Jean Grey was around, but how much have you picked up from the others about her?'

Rogue thought about this. 'She was one of the first X-Men. She was in love with Cyclops. And she died shortly before I joined the team. That's about it really.'

'No-one tell you how she died?' Logan asked. 

Rogue shook her head and then realised that Logan could not see her. 'No,' she said.

Logan grunted. 'I'm not surprised. It's not something any of us like to talk about. Where to begin. The X-Men had just defeated the bad guy, but it looked as if we were gonna die anyway. Jean offered to sacrifice her life in order to make sure the rest of us got home safely. Only she didn't die. Instead she merges with this thing called the Phoenix Force. Seems the Phoenix needed Jean in order to save the universe.'

'Save the universe!' Rogue laughed. 'You're kidding, right? You're not kidding. Tell me again why I signed up for this?'

'Same reason we all did.' Logan laughed in turn. 'You got sweet-talked by the Professor. Now, do you want to hear this story or not? So we saved the universe, not that anyone thanked us for it, and that should have been the end of the matter. However, Phoenix decided she liked being Jean and refused to leave. She wanted "new sensations". Well, power corrupts and Phoenix/Jean had near absolute power. She destroyed an entire plant full of people.'

'No way! Jean Grey blew up a planet!'

'Not Jean,' Logan insisted. 'Phoenix. Jean wouldn't have harmed anyone if she could have helped it. But Phoenix, she was like a kid with a new toy. She just wanted to see what she could do. Jean didn't have much control left in the end. Just enough to' Logan choked. 'Just enough to kill herself.'

Rogue had no response to that.

'I loved Jean,' Logan continued. 'I loved her and I had to watch her die. And now I've got to go through it all over again.'

'So Rachel's got this Phoenix Force now,' Rogue said.

'Part of it anyway,' Logan agreed. 'Where do you think she got all that power to fight the Beyonder. She's following in her mother's footsteps and she just to stubborn to admit it.'

'Hey, Ray's not Jean,' Rogue responded. 'Things might be different this time round.'

'Yeah, kid, they might,' Logan said, 'but that doesn't mean I ain't afraid. I'm afraid that this time I'm going to be the one to kill her.'

* * *

Magneto had joined Ororo and Kurt in the lounge.

'I hear you have a theory that might help us,' Magnus said.

'Well, it's Logan's theory really,' Kurt admitted. 'He thinks that there may be a group of wizards operating in San Francisco.'

Nobody laughed. It was no more fantastic than anything else they had been asked to deal with in their time as X-Men.

'And you contacted Amada for advice on how to track them,' Ororo surmised.

_'Ja_, exactly so,' Kurt agreed. 

'And what does Miss Sefton suggest?' Magneto asked.

'Ley Lines,' Kurt replied.

'Of course,' Magnus responded in excitement. 'I should have thought of it sooner.'

'You know what he's talking about?' Ororo asked Magnus.

'Well, the basic principles,' Magneto admitted. 'Ley lines are related to lines of magnetic force after all.'

'They also chart channels of mystical energy,' Jessica said from the doorway. 'Sorry, couldn't help overhearing.'

'Not at all. Join us,' Magneto invited.

Ororo held up her hands. 'Am I the only one here who doesn't know what you are talking about.'

'The occult's a bit of a hobby of mine,' Jessica confessed. 'It formed part of a case I was working on a while back and I've been reading up on it since.'

'I'm sure that's all very fascinating, Miss Drew,' Magneto interrupted, 'but hardly relevant to the problem in hand. Please continue, Kurt.'

Kurt rubbed his hands and fidgeted uncomfortably. He was perfectly at home performing in front of others where physical feats were concerned, but he was less than comfortable lecturing.

'Well, Amanda seemed to think it highly unlikely we were dealing with anyone in the Doctor Strange class. All that means is that to achieve any powerful manifestations – such as last night's fireball – they would need to boost their own energies through other means.' 

'Such as?' Ororo asked.

'Working with others,' Kurt suggested. 'Ritual might help as might certain artefacts. The other important point is location.'

'Magic isn't a consistent field throughout the planet,' Jessica continued. 'It pools in certain places.'

'Let me guess,' Ororo interjected. 'Ley Lines.'

'Precisely,' Kurt agreed, slamming a fist into the palm of his other hand. 'The most likely spot for our wizards to be based is a place where several Ley Lines cross!'

'Which would be much more useful,' Magnus commented dryly, 'if we knew where these Ley Lines were.'

'I thought you said they were magnetic,' Ororo put in. 'Can you not track them.'

'I'm afraid not, my dear,' Magneto apologised. 'I said they were related to magnetic force. Unfortunately, the relationship is too fuzzy for me to be able to provide any accurate readings.'

'Perhaps I can help?' Jessica suggested. She had left the sofa and was now examining the bookcase. 'No, not that one. Hmm, no I don't think so. Aha! Here it is.'

She opened up a large hardcover book on the coffee table. 

'It's a map of the Ley Lines running through the city,' Kurt said, rather redundantly.

'I told you I'd been reading up,' Jessica said.

The four leaned closer to examine the map.

'I can see a problem,' Ororo said.

'Yes,' Magnus agreed.

'Well, are you two going to keep Kurt and me in the dark?' Jessica demanded.

'There are several places where the Ley Lines cross,' Magnus explained. He turned to Ororo. 'Are we going to have time to investigate them all.'

'That may not be a problem,' Kurt interrupted. 'Um, Jessica, you don't happen to have a crystal pendant by any chance, do you?'

* * *

Rachel sat squeezed in between two elderly women on a bus. The two women were talking to each other across her, but Rachel ignored them. Outwardly, she was a picture of calm. Inside, she was screaming.

She knew that Logan suspected that she had caused the fireball. She was a telepath, how could she not know? Just as she knew that Storm was resentful every time she saw Rogue take flight or that Kitty was jealous because Ororo looked so good in black leather, Rachel's mind was constantly bombarded by a thousand and one different thoughts and sensations. That kid over there was angry with his mother because she had refused to buy him an ice cream. That girl was upset because the boy she liked was dating someone else. That man was concerned because he had just been refused a loan. That woman was depressed because blue really was not her colour.

All the sensations. All the images. All the thoughts, the emotions. Hates, loves, fears, desires, all rammed through her tiny skull. And now matter how far she ran there was no escape. Small wonder she felt she was losing her mind.

Logan was right to distrust her. She had not caused the fireball. She still knew herself well enough to know that, but perhaps Phoenix had. How do you explain to someone what it is like to have another person inside of you, one governed, not so much by a lack of morals, but by morals so alien they defy mere human understanding? And how do you tell them that you fear that she is beginning to dominate your actions? What if your dreams, your nightmares and fantasies, are not dreams at all? What if they are realities, realities brought into being by the Phoenix ruling you, mind, body and soul? 

She was a danger to her friends. Always had been. In her own time, her own universe, she had been used as a hound, her talents employed to track down her fellow mutants. And then the mutants were – what was the phrase? – 'relocated'. They were sent to death camps. They were sentenced to die all because Rachel wasn't strong enough to resist her masters. Just as now she was not strong enough to resist the Phoenix. So she was running away. She did not have the strength to kill herself like the Jean Grey of this world, but at least she could distance herself from her friends and pray they would not be hurt when the time came, when she finally succumbed completely to the monster inside of her.

* * *

Caven was throwing bread to the gulls down on the beach. They had time to kill before their next ceremony. They had to wait for the stars to come out. Caven folded his massive arms across his barrel chest and sighed. How he hated the waiting.

Caven had always been resentful of the other members of the society. Just because you were born with an ability to perceive the web of magic did not mean that you were any good at it and Caven was always bottom of the class. The only discipline he showed any talent for was divination and even then only a little. Still, to a young lad resentful of his peers, it was enough. Enough to strike back at them for succeeding where he could not. He could divine their secrets, spread rumours, crush reputations, all with a carefully placed word here and there. He became a master at manipulating others, so much so that he often did not bother to use his magics to learn if the stories he was spreading were indeed true at all.

Finally, he went to far, misjudged himself and gossiped about the wrong people. One complaint followed another and Caven was expelled from the society with little to show for the experience. Little but a well-honed talent for the despicable.

One after another, each and every gull burst into flame. Green flame.

'Hello, Tomas,' Caven said without looking up. Caven was unimpressed. Tomas' powers may be flashy, but he, like Caven, was a second-rate talent at best. The difference was that Tomas knew how to improve himself, knew that rituals and times and places that could boost his grasp of the power. And when he had found Caven he had shared his knowledge, in return for Caven's fealty.

'Greeting's, Caven. How goes it?' Tomas enjoyed lording it over others. Caven liked to see them suffer, enjoyed their pain. Tomas craved their respect, their servitude. He saw himself as an ancient noble and dressed accordingly.

'You do realise the X-Men are in town?' Caven said without preamble.

'You've seen this?' Tomas asked. 

Caven nodded.

'I expected as much,' Tomas admitted, 'but it's nice to have ones suspicions confirmed.'

'They'll interfere,' Caven commented.

'Well of course they will,' Tomas replied. 'You don't have to be a seer to see that. That's what "heroes" do – and they do see themselves as heroes despite what the press might have you believe. But have no fear, Caven, I have already taken steps to eliminate them. Why don't you take a "look" to see if we win?'

'You know that's beyond me, Tomas,' Caven snapped. 'Now, if you were to donate one of your artefacts'

'No, I don't think so,' Tomas replied. 'We'll need them all for the ceremony. Besides, who needs magic to confirm what we already know.'

* * *

Jessica did indeed have a crystal pendant. 'A souvenir from that case I was telling you about.'

Kurt took it gratefully. '_Danke, fraulein_. Now, to see if this really works. According to Amanda, crystal is strongly linked to mystical force so if I let the pendant swing above the map and concentrate on what we want to find, it should point to our quarry.'

'You're not serious,' Jessica exclaimed.

'I thought you believed in all this?' Ororo said. 

'I said I was interested,' Jessica replied. 'I didn't say I took any of it seriously.'

'Hush, ladies,' Magnus admonished. 'If Amanda says it will work then I for one am prepared to trust her judgement.'

'I didn't know you knew Amanda,' Ororo said. 

'I knewher mother,' Magnus explained.

'You know Margali?' Kurt responded.

'A great woman,' Magnus replied. 'Now, Kurt, if you are ready to begin, I see no need to delay any longer.'

Kurt took a deep breath to centre himself and then released it. He wrapped the chain of the pendant once about his fist to give him a secure grip, but leaving enough to allow the crystal to swing free. Then, closing his eyes, he thrust his clenched fist out over the book. The pendant started to swing. It traced long lazy arcs as it explored the map. Jessica was about to say something, but Magnus hushed her. Together, they waited. Slowly, Kurt began to move his fist, allowing the crystal to draw him where it willed. Was it his overactive imagination or could he really feel a physical force tugging at him, dragging his across the paper? He hardly dared breath lest he break the spell.

Then he felt the pull cease. The crystal was now only swinging in tiny circles. Kurt opened his eyes and looked at the map. 

'There,' he said, stabbing a finger onto the book beneath the swinging pendant. 'That's where they are.'

'In that case,' Ororo said, verifying the position on the map, 'I think it's time we paid them a visit.' 


	5. Five

Chapter Five - HOUND

'There!' Logan shouted and an instant later Rogue spotted her as well. She plummeted from the sky, dropping Logan just before she landed next to the girl.

Rachel seemed not to have noticed them, though everyone else on the street had. Some were pointing and waving. Others were backing away in fear. Rogue and Logan ignored them.

Rachel had one hand on a wall, supporting herself. The other clutched her head as if she were in pain. Her eyes were closed, her breathing ragged. 

'Ray, what's wrong, honey?' Rogue attempted to put an arm around the girl, but she shrugged it off. She started to run down the street, but it was more of a stumble and she was soon forced to stop to clear her head.

'Kid, we just want to help you.' Logan put a hand on Rachel's shoulder and forced her to turn and face him. He took an involuntary step backwards.

Rachel's features were contorted into a snarl. Deep black scars radiated outwards from her face.

'Get away!' she screamed, her voice cracked and broken.

'Look,' Logan suggested, 'why don't we all just go back to the house and we can talk about this.'

'No time,' Rachel replied, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. 'Gotta find her.' Once again she stumbled away and once again she collapsed into the wall.

'Gal, you're in no condition to find anyone,' Rogue admonished. 'No why don't you just calm down and we can talk about this. Whadya say, huh?'

Rogue reached forward and pinned Rachel's arms to her sides. Then she shot skywards.

'Get off me!' Rachel screamed. She closed her eyes and focussed a psychic blast on Rogue. To Rogue, it felt as if her head had just been split open. She released Rachel and fell to the sidewalk next to Logan. 'Don't you people understand? Kitty's in danger!' 

Rogue and Logan were forced to shield their eyes. Rachel had summoned forth a phoenix shaped aura to support her aloft. Her clothing had changed to match her features. Her street clothes had been replaced by head-to-toe skin-tight leather. Blood red leather, trimmed with spikes.

'That's what she wore when she ran with the Hounds,' Logan muttered. 'This deal just gets better an' better.' He watched Rachel disappear into the heavens and then prodded Rogue with his boot. 'Well, what are you sittin' around for, darlin'. We've gotta get after her.

* * *

Peter had returned and, having been briefed on developments had hurried to get into costume like the others. Now he stood on the back lawn wearing a sleeveless red tunic, black pants and knee high red boots. He had also shifted to his metallic form. He glistened in the late afternoon sun. Magneto joined him, clad in clothes of deep purple, the colour of a bruise. Though the outfit was not as tight as that worn by Colossus, it still showed that, despite his age, Magnus kept himself in peak physical condition. He also wore a flowing red cape – no one could pull off a cape quite like Magneto – but had forsaken his trademark helmet since joining the X-Men. The helmet had been designed to inspire fear; it did not fit his new status as a superhero.

Kurt was crouched in the branches of a tree, nearly invisible in its shadows. He wore a black bodysuit with white gloves and boots. Over this, he wore a 'V' of red, running from shoulder to groin to shoulder. This 'V' flared at the ends to form wide shoulder-pads. Storm's costume was the least outlandish, but it was hardly inconspicuous. She wore tight leather pants and a short silvery top that left her arms bare. Over this she wore a leather vest, with leather gloves completing the ensemble. Today, she also had a long hunting knife, a souvenir from her victory over the leader of the Morlocks, belted at her hip, just in case.

'Well,' announced Magneto, 'are the three of you ready to depart.'

'To face danger and insurmountable odds?' Kurt cried as he leaped from his perch. 'To defend the free world and rescue beautiful maidens? Undoubtedly.'

Magneto raised an eyebrow. Where Nightcrawler was flamboyant, Magnus was minimalist, but no less expressive for it. 'I take it that is a yes, then?' he said.

'Hey, wait up,' a voice cried from up above. Jessica launched herself from an open window, the webbing beneath her arms catching the air and allowing her to glide to the ground. She was wearing her Spider-Woman costume, a tight red body-stocking, complete with yellow boots and gloves, a stylised yellow spider device displayed across her chest and abdomen and a cowl-mask that hid her eyes behind patches of white and allowed her raven hair to flow free. Kurt could not help wolf whistling and Jessica blushed. It had been a while since she had got that kind of response, but then it had been a while since she had worn the costume.

'Are you sure about this, Jessica?' Storm asked. 'I thought you had decided to retire.'

'Do you really expect me to sit around while my city's in danger?' Jessica responded. 'Do you?'

'Miss Drew,' Magneto began, 'I feel I must warn you of the dangers involved in accompanying us. We have already seen a sample of our enemies' power and there is nothing to suggest that they do not have even more at their disposal. It would be remiss of me not to advise you in the strongest possible terms to stay behind.'

Jessica strode across the lawn and looked Magneto directly in his steel-grey eyes. 'Listen, buster,' she said, 'I've been in the superhero business a hell of a lot longer than you have and part of being a hero is putting others before yourself. Of course it's dangerous and I don't need you to remind me of that. I'm just doing what needs to be done, which I believe is the same reason you aren't staying behind. Besides, with half the team missing, you need all the help you can get.' 

Magneto bowed his head in acknowledgement. 'I apologise,' he said, 'it was not my intention to impugn your courage. I was raised with certainold-fashioned values and I fear they may cloud my judgement at times. I am trying to change, but you know what they say about old dogs.'

Magneto spread his arms wide and his cape billowed as if in a wind that was not there. Then he focused his power on each one of his comrades, making sure he had a firm grip, and then lifted the group aloft.

'One thing, though,' Magneto said to Jessica, 'in the field would you address me as "Magneto". I find that "Buster" does not have the same effect on our opponents.'

Jessica paused to let this sink in and then turned to Nightcrawler, who was levitating next to her. 'Kurt,' she whispered, 'am I imagining things or did Magneto just crack a joke?'

_'Fraulein_, this is Magneto we are talking about,' Kurt whispered back. 'Of course you imagined it.'

* * *

Kitty kept her back against the wall. Her eyes never left her opponents. It would be easy enough just to phase, to fall backwards through the bricks and concrete where they could not possibly follow. But if she did then who would protect their original victim, his green, puckered flesh concealed beneath his rags. Besides, running away did not solve anything; she had already discovered that for herself. Some problems had to be confronted head on.

She tipped her weight forward, balancing on the balls of her feet and waited for them to make the first move. She did not have long to wait. A blond rake of a man stepped forward, reaching out to grab her. She kicked him in the shin and, when he stumbled, chopped down on the back of his neck with both hands, forcing him to the floor. She had dropped on assailant; unfortunately, this only encouraged the others to be more violent. A short guy lunged at her, swinging his fists. She phased and he ran straight through her and into the wall, knocking himself out cold.

She stepped away from him and solidified. Not so long ago she had swapped bodies with a possible future incarnation of herself. That Kate had had the ability to solidify certain parts of her body while the rest remained phased. Kitty had yet to learn that trick, with her it was all or nothing. So, while the enemy could not touch her when intangible, she could not fight back either. She strained to recall the martial arts lessons Wolverine and Storm had been giving her. She widened her stance to improve her balance and hoped that they would continue to attack one at a time.

The gang was not stupid, however. They had underestimated her before based on her looks, but having seen how easily she had dispatched two of their number they were not about to take any more chances. Three rushed her at once. Kitty darted forward, smashing the nose of the middle thug against the heel of her right hand. He cried out and spurted blood. Grabbing hold of him for support, Kitty swung herself upwards and brought both feet into the stomach of the next. He doubled over, but Kitty did not have time to finish him. The third attacker had disappeared from he vision.

There was a clanging behind her. The third man had fallen to the ground. There was a knife in his hand. Standing over him was the rag-clad mutant, holding the lid of a trash can. Kitty smiled her gratitude and he returned the gesture. The gang was incensed and fell upon the mutant, an easier target than the girl. He disappeared beneath a pile of bodies.

Kitty saw red and dragged one of the men off of the pile and shoved him against the wall.

'Call off the others,' she ordered.

'Or what?' the man demanded.

Kitty phased both herself and the gang-member and shoved him back a few inches so he was now half-in, half-out of the wall. 'Or I let go,' she replied.

* * *

It is a good thing people in cities do not tend to look up much. Heaven alone knows what they would have made of the five figures rocketing over their heads towards the bay. No one spoke. There was no need; the X-Men had honed their teamwork through many hours' practice in the Danger Room. Each knew their place without having to ask. Spider-Woman was something of a wild card, but even she had spent enough time with the X-Men to know their strengths and weaknesses and she put her faith in her unnatural agility to keep her out of their way. She watched the people down below, exhilarated by the thrill of flight. Her costume allowed her to glide to some degree, but never at such heights or with such speed. She supposed she should be grateful to have any super powers at all, but she had always envied those who could fly.

A toddler with a balloon looked up and pointed at her. Spider-Woman smiled back, though at this distance the little girl wouldn't be able to see. In her surprise, she had let go of her balloon and it was sailing heavenwards. The girl, meanwhile, was tugging on her mother's skirts to get her to see what she had seen. By the time the mother glanced up, the heroes would be long gone.

The buildings slid away beneath her, replaced by the glittering watery expanse that is Golden Gate. The bridge that she had driven across so many times in the past seemed almost magical from up here.

'There it is,' Magneto announced.

At first Spider-Woman, unable to separate from her train of thought, believed he was taking about the bridge, but then she saw it, just appearing on the horizon. The island was dead ahead.

There was a buzzing at the base of her skull. Slowly it grew, becoming a dull throb and then a sensation like red-hot needles being driven through her brain. She knew what that meant.

'It's a trap,' she shouted to the others. 

'How' Magneto began, but Jessica cut him off.

'Just trust me on this,' she said. 'They know we're coming.'

Magneto nodded and released his magnetic grip.

Spider-Woman felt the air catch in the wings beneath her arms and allowed herself to be lifted while she looked for a suitable place to land.

Nightcrawler disappeared in a cloud of pungent smoke.

Colossus simply plummeted straight down.

Unable to fly or survive a fall from this height, Storm was the most vulnerable so Magneto drew her closer to him as they both gracefully descended.

Jessica's spider-sense was still ringing like crazy, but she could not place the cause.

Nightcrawler hit the island first and then Jessica saw the problem. The elf appeared about a foot above the surface of the pebble-strewn beach, planning to fall into a fighting crouch. Instead, he fell straight through the island and into the bay. As Spider-Woman watch, the island shimmered and disappeared. Now she could see that it had been an illusion, as the real island appeared about five hundred metres to the right of the first. 

To Nightcrawler, this was not a problem. He simply disappeared again. Colossus, on the other hand, had no way to change course. He plunged deep beneath the bay and for long moments Jessica feared he would not surface. Then he bobbed back into sight. With a reassuring wave to his companions, he began to swim the distance to the other shore.

There were three figures on the beach, not counting Kurt who had just appeared. One was a large, dark-haired man dressed in a battered leather jacket and jeans. One was a woman, who wore a white, hooded robe that obscured her face. The final member of the trio was tall, blond and handsome, in a roguish kind of way. He was dressed in eighteenth century finery, like some hero out of a romantic novel. He had a sword at his waist, Jessica noted as she came in to land.

This final figure raised both hands and pointed at her with the thumbs. She was suddenly surrounded by a circle of fire, which leapt into the air until it was taller than she was. At first she thought it was another illusion, but closer inspection showed that if it was then it was a very realistic one. Bending her knees, she crouched and then sprang straight up, easily clearing the flames. Spreading her arms, she allowed the winds to carry her a safe distance from the fire before she circled back to deliver some firepower of her own. The venom blast kicked up the beach at the magician's feet, forcing him back.

'Oh, this is going to be fun,' he laughed. 'I like a woman who gives as good as she gets.'

* * *

Kitty held him up by his jacket. For a brief instant she though she could see feat in his eyes. But then it was gone.

'Well, go on then,' he taunted. 'Let go of me.'

Kitty did not.

'You can't do it, can you?' he mocked. 'You haven't got the guts to kill me.'

And the worst of it was, Kitty knew he was right. She was an X-Man. She fought to protect people. That meant she did not kill, right? Heroes should not kill, not even when confronted by arrogant slime who did not deserve to even breathe the same air she did. She hated him, hated him with a passion and a fury she could not describe. But she could not kill him. That was his way not hers. Slowly, she pulled him from the wall and dropped him on the ground.

He laughed at her, brandishing a flick-knife. 'Game over, mutie,' he sneered.

'No!'

The alley was bathed in an orange glow, the colour of flame. Floating unsupported above them was a huge flaming bird. A phoenix.

A lump formed in Kitty's throat as she took in Rachel's clothes as she hovered in the centre of the flames. She knew Rachel's history, knew that she had run with a pack of Hounds tracking mutants. She had called upon that same training to find Kitty, but how deep did the transformation go? Judging from the tears glistening on Rachel's cheeks, too deep.

'What is this?' the knife-wielder demanded. 'A mutie convention?'

Rachel smiled. 'No,' she replied, her voice soft, but clearly audible. 'It's your worst nightmare.'

She extended an arm. The spikes running along it sparkled in the firelight.

'You,' she said, singling out a target seemingly at random. 'Feel my pain.'

White flames outlined the victim's body, as he stretched unnaturally, as if being pulled upwards on puppet-strings. He opened his mouth in a silent scream. His eyes were wide and a tear trickled from one socket. He hung there, on tiptoe, supported by Rachel's will. Then she let him go. He collapsed to his knees and vomited on the street.

'Who wants to be next?' Rachel asked.

Nobody moved.

'Well, what are you waiting for?' the knife-wielder demanded of his fellows. 'There's only one of her. She can't take all of us.'

'Really?' Rachel said.

She spread her arms wide and tilted her head back. The Phoenix also raised its head, crying out in ecstasy. Then it spread its wings, which glowed brighter as they grew large enough to engulf the entire scene. There was a flash of blinding light.

When Kitty's vision cleared, she could see that she and the rag-clad mutant were the only people left on the ground. The gang was suspended in the wings of the Phoenix.

'Let me tell you something about me,' Rachel was saying. 'I grew up in world much like this one, a world in which mutants were hunted and persecuted. I was taken from my parents as a child. I was tortured and brainwashed and used. Used to hunt my own kind. And if I refused then they tortured me some more. Finally, they decided I had outlived my usefulness and they threw me into a concentration camp where I was subject to yet more abuse. There was a break out and the resistance was put down with extreme prejudice. I had to watch all of my friends, all the people I loved, being killed in front of me. So I know a few things about pain.

'Back then I didn't have the power to do anything about it. Now I do. My mother used to have this power. Do you know what she did with it? She destroyed a planet. An inhabited planet. Imagine that. Billions of lives, snuffed out. Men, women, children, rich and poor, all gone. All dead. All that potential, all that energy, destroyed because she willed it so. They say that power corrupted her, but I'm not so sure. I can't help wondering if it was people like you that made her what she was. If after years of being trodden on and oppressed she finally decided to lash out and inflict some punishment of her own.

'Well it's my power now and I'm sick of people like you dictating my life. It's time for some payback.'

'Ray, no!'

He came swooping in like death from above. Hurled from the arms of Rogue, Wolverine shot like a bullet at Rachel, arms outstretched, fists leading the way. He struck Rachel with a sickening crack and Kitty was forced to look away.

Rachel lay broken and unconscious on the floor. Wolverine rolled away from her and sprang up into a crouch. The gang was staggering to their feet, some nursing their heads, but others still appeared to be spoiling for a fight.

Wolverine unsheathed his claws, the adamantium wickedly sharp.

'Beat it,' he ordered. No one had the strength left to argue.

* * *

Kurt bounded across the beach in an elaborate feat of acrobatics. He may have been both X-Man and student priest, but it was his skills learned as a circus performer that were keeping him one step ahead of the opposition at the moment. When he had appeared on the beach, he had caught the attention of the woman in white. As the dashing rogue, Kurt Wagner had always had an eye for a pretty face. Unfortunately, his charms were wasted in this instance. His senses were alerted when he noticed the silver bell she was holding in one hand. As a boy, he had seen both Margali and Jimaine, as Amanda had then been known, use such objects in their rituals. He was already bounding away when she lifted the bell in his direction while uttering a few words in an alien tongue.

Then a black tentacle shot from the sand and narrowly missed catching Nightcrawler's foot. He had been dodging tentacles ever since. What he wouldn't give for a sabre, preferably two. Errol Flynn had never had to deal with situations such as these. He wished Amanda was here or even – and he shuddered at the thought – Margali. The woman may have raised him, but he had never trusted the dark arts she practised. Still, he was practical enough to realise that magic was their best hope of victory.

He had had enough. It was time to reduce the odds. He teleported over to the woman. It was a mistake. Before he could get his bearings she had placed a piece of chalk to his forehead and spoken three words. The mutant found himself firmly bound in two iron bands.

* * *

Magneto dropped Storm near the edge of the conflict and flew over to the other side of the beach where the large leather-jacketed man was waiting. He had yet to reveal his powers and Magneto detested unknowns.

'You had best surrender now,' Magneto suggested. 'I am not known as the most powerful mutant on the planet for nothing.'

The man shrugged and hefted a large piece of driftwood. 'Perhaps,' he said, 'but every man has a weakness. I just have to find it.'

Magneto folded his arms across his chest. 'Do you expect to best me with a piece of wood?'

'As it happens, yes,' the man replied. 'That and a little something else. Yes, I thinkMagda. Yes, Magda will do.' 

'What, how do you?' Magneto began. Memories came flooding back, memories of his late wife. How she had run from him when she had seen what he was, when all he was doing was avenging the murder of their child. There was a sudden blow to the side of his head. As the world went black he realised that in his confusion he had lowered his shields. And without his powers he was just a frail old man.

* * *

Jessica cursed under her breath. Kurt was trapped, Magnus was unconscious and Peter was still swimming. She and Ororo were the only ones left, one retired superhero, one powerless one. Still, at least blondie did not seem to be able to lay a finger on her. Her spider-sense kept her one step ahead of his magical blasts. Unfortunately, since her first shot, he had been able to whip up a shield to deflect her venom blasts. Maybe it was time to be a bit more direct.

Spider-Woman launched herself into the air, intending to come down feet first upon her opponent. Unfortunately, his colleagues had other ideas. The girl put her hands together as if praying and began a low chanting. The air became filled with bats that flocked around Spider-Woman tugging at her hair and clothes. She batted at them with flailing arms to get them loose, but as she did so, she folded up her wings and began to plummet to the ground like a stone. She twisted at the last moment to take the fall on her side and rolled clear of the flapping vermin. 

'It had to be bats, didn't it,' Spider-Woman muttered, taking careful aim on the cloaked girl. She flicked her wrist and the woman became engulfed in sticky strands of webbing. 'There, that evens up the odds a little.'

Her pause almost cost her, but her spider-sense was working overtime. The blast of green fire may have churned up the beach, but Spider-Woman was already airborne again. She closed her eyes and trusted to her senses to keep her away from the multi-coloured missiles.

'Damn, this is pointless,' the blond man commented. 'Caven, you'll have to be my eyes.'

'Very well,' the other man agreed. 'Straight upnow!'

The blast hit Jessica full on, without warning. She tumbled from the sky, this time without the opportunity to roll from the impact.

* * *

Storm scrambled up the beach, clutching her knife. The fight would be all but over by the time she got there. She knew that without her powers she was of limited use in combat, but Magnus did not have to reinforce that by dropping her so far away.

If she had missed her powers before, the site that greeted her made Storm desperate for them. Nightcrawler, Spider-Woman and Magneto had all been subdued. It appeared that Jessica had at least managed to score a point for the good guys, but one of the two men was cutting the woman free from the web with his sword. Ororo figured her best chance would be to hide until Colossus got here and then they could regroup. At least her training as a thief had not deserted her.

It was not to be, however. The more heavily built figure tilted his head back as if sniffing the air. Then he said something to his companion. The swordsman slowly got to his feet and turned toward her.

'Storm, how nice of you to join us,' he said.

He was looking straight at her. Even if she dove for cover, he would not lose her. Her only option was to stand and fight. With a defiant roar, she lunged at him with the knife. He parried her with his sword.

He grinned. 'This will be entertaining,' he said. 

* * *

Colossus pulled himself from the bay and up on to the island, water cascading from his metal shoulders. 

'Storm,' he shouted. 'Magneto. Where are you?'

'Why, they're right here, tin man,' a voice replied. The voice did not belong to any of his friends.

Peter turned to face the three sorcerers knowing he did not stand a chance.


	6. Six

Chapter Six - SENTINEL

Knife-wielder ran into a disused warehouse. About half-a-dozen of the gang were still with him. He had spent weeks building them up, preparing them so he could petition the Friends of Humanity to set up a chapter in his hometown. Now, thanks to the muties, that was all gone. First the ghost, then the psycho firebird. And if that was not enough, that guy with those freaky claws had to show up as well. Knife-wielder had seen him on the news and knew just what those claws could do. Even if he did not, you could see from his eyes that the guy was a killer. They had that in common.

'Hey, Mikey,' someone called from the back of the group, 'what are we doing in here?'

'We're hiding from those damn freak-jobs,' another replied.

'We are not hiding!' Mikey snapped. 'We don't need to hide from any mutie. 'Specially when we got us one of these.'

'What is it?' someone else whispered.

'Gimme a hand with this tarpaulin and I'll show you,' Mikey answered as he started to uncover his prize.

He had met her last night in the club. Said her name was Isabel or something. They had been dancing. He liked dancing with her, dancing close. Then she had whispered in his ear. Told him she knew his secret. Told him she knew how to help him. Then she had taken him and shown him this.

'Whoa! Mikey, is that what I think it is?'

'Sure is,' Mikey replied, triumphantly. 'That, my friends, is a honest-to-god mutant-hunting Sentinel.'

'Are you sure that thing still works?' a girl asked. 'I mean, it looks a bit beat up to me.'

'Well, of course it looks beat up,' Mikey retorted. 'This is one of them Sentinels that the X-Men trashed the other week. Only they didn't trash this one so good, cause it was able to crawl in here and hide. It's been repairing itself ever since. It may not look so hot, but it's what's inside that counts and our friend here's got what it takes to help us show those muties who's really top of the ladder in this town.'

* * *

'What the hell did you do that for?' Kitty demanded, striding towards Logan. He took a step back. Not many people stood up to Wolverine, but Kitty had never let herself be intimidated. Strangely enough, she was more nervous around Kurt, for all his practical joking, than she was around this hardened killer.

Logan sheathed his claws and held up his hands. 'Look, kid, from where I was those people were in danger.'

'In danger?' Kitty repeated. 'Ray was bluffing. You know bluffing, don't you? Don't tell me you've never tried it.'

In fact, Kitty had seen him threaten people to good effect, extending two of his claws, one on either side of a man's face and threatening to extend the middle on if they did not co-operate. At least, Kitty had assumed he was bluffing.

'Kitten, listen to me,' Rogue interjected. 'You don't know she was bluffing. Ray's been acting mighty strange lately and from what Logan's been telling me'

'So he's been poisoning you against her, too, has he,' Kitty snapped. 'Well, that's awfully brave of you, Mister Living Weapon, mouthing off about someone behind their back!'

'Hey, it wasn't like that,' Logan protested. 

'Sure it wasn't,' Kitty responded, 'and it wasn't like you just punched her in the head!'

Just for a moment, Kitty thought that she might have pushed him too far.

'Listen, kid,' Logan replied, 'I like you. But if you don't shut up I'll deck you as well. Rachel's possessed. She's not in control of her actions any more.'

'You don't know that,' Kitty insisted.

'Maybe not,' Logan agreed, 'but if I see people who may be in danger I'm not going to take the chance.'

'You still didn't have to hit her,' Kitty said.

'Kitten, trust me, with Phoenix, talking to her sternly just doesn't cut any ice.'

'But it might with Rachel,' Kitty whispered.

* * *

Ororo woke up. She was tied to a chair in an expansive dining room. The décor looked to be eighteenth or nineteenth century, she was not sure which. She scanned the room for her colleagues. They were also tied to chairs but they were still unconscious. Ororo suspected that they had been drugged to keep them that way. With their powers they probably would not have a problem escaping. Ororo, on the other hand, was stuck. Or so they thought.

Her fingers started to search for the knot that bound the ropes while her eyes looked for her captors. The woman was sitting at the opposite end of the table, head bowed. Ororo coughed to show she was conscious. 

'Oh you're awake at last.' She giggled. 'Goody. I hate being on my own without anyone to talk to. I'm Isabelle, by the way. I'm a sorceress.' She pronounced the last word with reverence, but then spoiled it by bursting into more giggles. 'At least that's what Tomas tells me. He looks after me and tells me I'm really important. He also says I'm pretty. Do you think I'm pretty?'

'Why are you doing this?' Ororo asked, ignoring Isabelle's question.

'Why am I doing what?' Isabelle replied. She reached for the fruit bowl, plucked a grape and popped it into her mouth.

'Terrorising the city,' Ororo explained. She had found the knot now. It was complicated, but not impossible to untie, given time. 'I assume it was you who created the fireball.'

'Yes, that was rather clever of me, wasn't it?' Isabelle giggled again and spat the grape pip into her palm. 'Tomas said it was very clever. He wants me to have another go tonight.'

'Another go at what?' Ororo pressed.

'I think that's quite enough, Isabelle,' a voice instructed from the doorway. The two men entered. One was carrying a bundle of silver candlesticks, the other a large cardboard box.

'Good evening, Miss Storm,' the blond man said. 'Or is it just Storm. I've never been quite sure how one addresses a superhero in polite society. Or perhaps superheroes and polite society simply don't mix. Now that would be shame, especially if they are all as pretty as you, my dear.'

'You said I was pretty,' Isabelle whined.

'Of course I did, child,' the man replied. 'But I'm forgetting my manners. I believe you've already met Isabelle, our conjurer. Over there is Caven, our seer, and I am Tomas.' 

'And what are you, Tomas,' Ororo asked, 'a politician?'

Tomas laughed. 'How very droll. No, I'm but a dabbler destined for better things.'

'You'll forgive me if I don't bow,' Ororo said. 'I'm a bit tied up at the moment.'

'Don't mock me,' Tomas shouted, slamming his hands on the table. 'I will not be mocked.' He took several breaths to calm himself. 'You know,' he continued, his voice still a little shaky, 'I had expected better from the leader of the X-Men. It's something of a blow to find that you are just human after all.'

'My apologies,' Ororo replied. 'I've tried being a goddess, but there's more to be gained from helping people than in being adored.'

'What a quaint notion,' Tomas said. 'I'm just the reverse. I wanted to help people, I really did. So when I discovered I had these powers I enrolled in the Society to learn how to better control them. And do you know what they did? They laughed at me. Called me a cheap stage magician with a measly bag of tricks. Tricks! Well, I'll show them. They'll learn to respect me!'

'Is that what this is all about?' Ororo asked. 'You're upset because they wouldn't let you join their club?'

'Oh, it's far more than that, Storm,' Tomas answered. 'This is about power. You see, when they refused me I studied all the harder, just to prove them wrong. I researched and I read the forbidden books and I learned that I need not be limited by a mere accident of birth. I may not be a natural talent, but through the use of artefacts and celestial cycles and through rituals I can be as powerful as any archmage. But the thing about power is that it's a drug. Once you've started down that road you'll never be satisfied. And you know what? I don't care. I'll just keep taking and taking and taking because I can!'

'You're mad,' Ororo said.

Tomas shrugged. 'So what? Every man should have a hobby.'

'And do the others crave power as well?' Ororo asked.

Tomas shook his head. 'Caven's in it purely for the revenge. He was kicked out of the Society because he tried to use his natural talents to get ahead. As with most things in life, they would have turned a blind eye if he hadn't annoyed the wrong people. I've promised to help him bring the Society to its knees. As for Isabelle, she's a sad case. I fear someone must have dropped her on her head as a child. She's a brilliant natural conjurer, but she's a few plates short of a dinner service, if you know what I mean. Tragic. Now, if you'll excuse me, we've got much to prepare before the night's activities.'

'Which are?' Ororo prompted.

'Oh, haven't I mentioned it? How remiss of me. We're going to release a demon in downtown San Francisco.'

* * *

They were having to walk home. Rogue could not carry all three of them and none of them fancied trying to explain why they were carrying an unconscious teenager on public transport. Rogue was carrying Rachel in her arms while Logan scouted ahead. Kitty was staring daggers into his back.

'How hard did you hit her anyway?' Kitty demanded.

'Hard,' Logan replied. He turned and saw the look in Kitty's eyes. 'Hey, you try tapping anyone softly when you've got a metal skeleton, kid.'

Kitty had to concede he had a point. That did not mean she had to like it though.

'Where are we now?' Rogue interrupted. She had been trying to play peacemaker between the two of them since they left the alley and was clearly getting fed up with the whole thing. Kitty felt sorry for her. It was not her fault Logan had dragged her into this. She got the map from her pocket and unfolded it.

'We're about here,' she said. Rogue leaned over her shoulder for a better look and even Logan crowded round. 'If we cut across Chinatown we're almost there.'

'Lead on, kiddo,' Logan suggested.

They walked on in silence for another quarter of an hour. Kitty could not help staring as they entered Chinatown. She hated looking like a tourist, but there was so much to take in. All the colours. All the smells. She made a mental note to come back here with Rachel before the team flew back to New York.

'Keep an eye on her for me, would you?' Logan said to Rogue. 'Back soon.' Then he disappeared into the throng.

'Now where in tarnation is he off to?' Rogue asked.

'Beats me,' Kitty said. 'He's probably found some other teenager to attack.'

'Now that ain't fair,' Rogue scolded.

'I know,' Kitty admitted. She looked away and started drawing in the dust with her toe. 'It's just we're supposed to be team-mates. More than that, we're friends. And friends shouldn't hurt each other.'

'Hey, I'm not saying what he did was right,' Rogue replied, 'but I do understand why he did it. Wolvie's a man of instincts and he acts without thinking sometimes. Kinda reminds me of me. But he's always done right by us. He's just trying to do what's right, is all, and sometimes it's kinda difficult to see what that is. I should know.'

'Yeah, I guess,' Kitty agreed.

Logan appeared from the crowd again. In one hand he was carrying a brown paper bag.

'What you got there, sugah?' Rogue asked.

'Peace offering.' Logan handed the bag to Kitty. She looked inside.

'Fortune cookies.' She thumped Logan on the arm. 'No fair,' she complained. 'I want to stay mad at you.'

'Hey, ain't you gonna give me one of those things?' Rogue asked.

Logan tensed, sniffing the air.

'What is it, sugah?' Rogue queried.

'Trouble,' he replied. There was a _snikt_ sound. Kitty glanced down to see that Logan had extended his claws. Rogue was putting Rachel on the ground so that she was in a position to defend herself. 

Then Kitty heard a familiar voice. 'Well, well, if it isn't my favourite group of muties,' said the man who had held her at knifepoint. 'Not so tough now are you, freaks.'

Rounding the corner of a nearby building was a Sentinel. 

The evening crowds were panicked, scattering in all directions. The mutants stood their ground. Sentinels were designed to hunt and kill mutants. If they ran it would simply follow and unlike them it would not tire. Their best option was to stop it here.

Kitty studied it, looking for weaknesses. It was thirty foot tall and painted in purple and silver, with a crude approximation of human features. One of its eyes was missing as was its armour plating in several places. It looked to be a survivor from their most recent battle. That time they had fought off several Sentinels, but they had relied on the power of the Phoenix to help them. With Rachel unconscious, defeating one, even in its current state, might be beyond them.

If Rogue or Wolverine realised this then they did not show it.

'Welcome to Claw City, bub,' Wolverine snarled, charging forward ready to curve his initials in the robot's hide.

'Mutant Ident: Wolverine,' the Sentinel announced in its mechanical monotone. 'Abilities: Healing Factor, Enhanced Senses, Skeleton has been bonded with Adamantium, Claws of same. Threat Level: Only at close range. Response: Keep target at distance.'

The Sentinel raised its hand, opening its fist to reveal a circular depression in its palm that began to glow with a blue light. Wolverine was hurled across the street and pinned to the wall by an invisible force. Kitty had seen Magneto do the same by grabbing hold of the metal bonded to Logan's skeleton. Wolverine growled with fury as he tried, unsuccessfully, to move.

Rogue was up next, flying at full speed at the robot, trusting in the strength she had stolen from Ms Marvel to protect her.

'Mutant Ident: Rogue,' the Sentinel intoned. 'Abilities: Absorption of Memories/Abilities from organics, Enhanced Strength, Flight. Response: Shields to compensate for impact.'

Rogue struck an invisible barrier. She started to pummel it with her fists, but could get no closer than a foot from the target.

'Ah could do with some help here,' she shouted. 

Kitty was terrified. She did not mind admitting that. But she was an X-Man and that meant she had to do something.

'Maybe I can short out its shields,' she suggested.

'Mutant Ident: Shadowcat.' The Sentinel turned its attention on her. 'Abilities: Phasing. Phasing may disrupt electric circuitry. Response: Eliminate phasing ability.'

The Sentinel raised its other arm and launched a cloud of green gas at Kitty. She tried to breathe, but she had already inhaled some of the gas. She could feel her eyes watering and her head spinning.

'Kitty!' Rogue shouted, turning to help her. The Sentinel took advantage of her distraction to grab her in one of its fists.

Kitty fell to the ground, fighting to stay conscious. The last thing she saw was the Sentinel squeezing Rogue harder and harder.

'Mutant Ident: Rogue. Threat Level: Eliminated.' 


	7. Seven

Chapter Seven - DEMON

'Kitty!'

Rogue saw the gas engulf the girl and whirled to help. Before she had a chance, however, she found herself caught in the Sentinel's grip. Her arms were pinned to her sides and the Sentinel's grip was getting tighter. She had always assumed she was invulnerable as a result of the abilities she had stolen from Ms Marvel. _Guess Ah'm about to find out._

She tried to push outwards against the vice, but with her arms pinned she could not find anything to push against.

'Rogue, darlin', fly!' Logan shouted at her from below. 

Black spots were appearing in front of her eyes.

'Straight up,' Logan was shouting. 'Fly straight up.'

And she did. With a last desperate burst of strength, Rogue forced herself upwards powering all her effort into one last flight. The Sentinels arm was wrenched upwards, but when it reached the limit of its reach it held and Rogue could go no further.

'Keep climbing,' Logan insisted. 'You can do it, darlin', we're counting on you.'

She could no longer see where she was going, but she did not need to. She just kept climbing. Gears ground, metal twisted and then, all of a sudden the whole arm came free, dragged skywards by the flying mutant. Released from the Sentinel's control, the grip relaxed and Rogue was finally able to force her way free. She turned and flew back to land where Logan was pinned.

'Well, how was I?' she asked.

'Disarming,' Logan replied. 'Got any bright ideas, Carol.'

'How did you know?' the ghost in Rogue's body asked.

'You move differently and your accents changed a bit,' Logan explained. 'Not much, but I tend to notice. Where's Rogue?'

'Taking a nap,' Carol Danvers explained. 'One advantage of a split personality – there's always on of us to pick up the pieces. Can't say I think much of the kid's dress sense, though.'

'Them's the breaks,' Logan replied with a grin. 'So, any ideas.'

The one-armed Sentinel refused to be defeated, continuing remorselessly towards them with long slow strides. Logan was still pinned to the wall and both Rachel and Kitty were unconscious.

'Fresh out,' Carol replied. 'Guess it's all down to me then?'

'Unless you can figure out a way to get me unstuck,' Logan responded.

'If only I could get close enough to hit it,' Carol complained, 'but Kitty was the only one who stood a chance at that.'

'Notnecessarily,' Logan said slowly.

'You're not serious? It's bad enough I'm trapped in here because of what she can do. Now you want to turn me into a vampire as well.'

'You got any better ideas?'

Carol did not answer.

'Okay, I'll give it a go,' she said at last. 

'That's my girl,' Logan said.

The Sentinel was firing laser blasts at her now. Carol was unconcerned, they simply bounced off her impenetrable skin. She ran across the street to where Kitty was lying. 

'Sorry, kiddo,' she said, 'but you'll thank me for it later. I hope.' Then she removed her glove and placed her bare hand on Kitty's cheek.

It was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. The theft of energy gave her a buzz, like a drug, but she already knew what an overdose could do. No one knew better. But with the energy cam the images, the memories. _So this is what it's like for you_, Carol thought. _Oh, Rogue, I never knew_. She could hear Kitty in her head. Her thoughts were Carol's thoughts now. She could see her memories. Her first taste of ice cream. The first boy she had kissed. They first time her mutant power had appeared and she had fallen through the bedroom floor. Her first meeting with Lockheed, the dragon who was to become her pet. That time, all too recently, when she had been mugged on campus.

She tried to force the flood of images to one side. There was not time to deal with that now. Instead she focussed all that pain she was picking up and channelled it into her fists, allowing them to lead her as she flew like a cannonball straight at the Sentinel. The Sentinel thought it knew what to expect and raised its shields in response, shields Carol was not strong enough to knock down. But she did not have to. At the last moment she found herself concerned that she would not know how to use her phasing power, but there was Kitty's voice in her head showing her just the right way to shift her molecules to pass straight through the shield. Carol kept going plunging straight into the robot's torso. She could here the sparks as her phasing disrupted the thing's circuits, but the robot had been well constructed and it would take more than that to shut it down. Carol smiled, she preferred it this way. She found a space in amongst the machinery where she could solidify and then she started to use her great strength to tear the thing apart from the inside out.

* * *

Tomas and Caven had removed the dining-room table and drawn a large chalk circle on the wooden floor. Then Isabelle had drawn a second circle inside of this one with a pentagram in the middle. Between the circles she began to draw runes, copied from a book. Caven placed the candlesticks at the five corners of the pentagram and lit the candles. Tomas took a compass from his pocket to find which way was north. At that point on the circle he placed a bowl of water. At the east point he put a bowl of sand. South he placed another candle, this one as thick as it was tall and formed from a black wax, and west he lay a feather.

'Have you got the artefacts?' he asked Caven.

Caven opened the cardboard box and began passing items to Tomas. A wand. Half a skull. A book bound with human skin. Tomas laid them reverently in the centre of the circle. Caven went to stand at the window and put a spyglass to his eye.

'How are the stars?' Tomas asked.

'Looking good,' Caven replied. 'They'll be in alignment in a little under half an hour.'

'He can tell that just by looking through a cheap telescope?' Storm said.

'Don't be silly,' Tomas replied, 'he can tell that because he's a seer. Now do us both a favour and shut up. I'm trying to concentrate.'

'Are you ready, Isabelle?' he asked.

Isabelle was looking a bit frantic. She was looking around, under chairs, in the cabinet, everywhere.

'Isabelle, my dear, whatever is the matter?' Tomas pressed.

'I can't find Roger,' she moaned. 'Oh, Tomas, you know I can't concentrate without Roger.'

'Caven,' Tomas ordered, 'go upstairs and find that wretched teddy bear of hers, would you?'

'But' Caven began.

'Just do it, will you,' Tomas snapped. 'If she says she can't concentrate then we're going to have to humour her, okay. And do it quickly, we're running out of time.'

Tomas took Isabelle's hands in his. 'Now, my dear, is there anything else you need.'

Isabelle thought for a moment. Tomas could tell by the way she screwed up her face. If she was not so powerful, Tomas would have had her put done long ago. It would have been a mercy killing.

'A drink might help,' she said at last.

'White wine?' Tomas suggested.

'Oh, Tomas, you know that makes me all tipsy.' Isabelle giggled.

'Better make it water then,' Tomas said. 'Would you like anything, Storm.'

'No, thank you,' Storm replied.

'Very well. 'He opened the drinks cabinet and poured a couple of brandies for himself and Caven and a glass of water for Isabelle. 'You know, Storm, there's one thing I've neglected to mention. This demon we intend to summon doesn't have a physical body as such so it will need to use one of ours. Caven was going to make the ultimate sacrifice, but the arrival of you and your friends has suggested a delicious alternative. What do you think, Isabelle, shall we turn the demon into a demon?'

Isabelle clapped her hands like a giddy schoolgirl. 'Ooh, yes, let's. I'd like that.'

'There we are then. Nightcrawler it is.'

Storm was horrified. 'Take me instead,' she insisted.

'I intend to, my dear,' Tomas replied, savouring his brandy, 'but Nightcrawler still belongs to the demon.'

Tomas put down his glass and starred at the circle. Then he snapped his fingers. 'The bell,' he announced. 'We've got the book and the candle, but no bell. Shan't be a moment, my dear. Try and keep Miss Storm amused, won't you?'

Tomas kept a collection of bells in a room at the far end of the house. It was his trophy room where he kept all of the items he had won (stolen, he admitted to himself) from rival magicians. Many of them were just trinkets with no power whatsoever, but one or twoHe grinned as he passed a stuffed parakeet. The creature talked, but only on alternate Thursdays. It was amusing, but Tomas fully intended to find a way to drain its magic and use it in something more practical.

The bell collection was hanging from the window frame. On a whim, Tomas picked up one of the wands and started striking bells to make a tune. The wand emitted sparks every time in struck a bell, but Tomas had no ear for music and his 'tune' was just a jumble of notes. In the end he just ran the wand across the lot and then threw it back on the pile. Tomas was easily bored. He needed new challenges, new excitements. To tame a real live demon, now that was exciting. He scanned the bells for one he liked and finally settled on a large copper one with a lion crest on it.

He met Caven coming back down the stairs. 

'Good, you've found the bear,' Tomas said. 'Maybe now we can finally get started.'

They returned to the dining room.

'Tomas, look,' Caven shouted, grabbing his shoulder and pointing at Storm's chair.

Storm was gone.

Tomas glanced around. The window was open and the drapes were fluttering in the breeze.

'I thought I told you to keep an eye on her,' he snapped at Isabelle. He raised his hand to strike her, but Caven caught hold of it.

'Don't,' he whispered. 'We need her. We'll just have to carry on as planned. It's too late for Storm to do anything now anyway.'

Tomas relaxed and sat down cross-legged on the floor. 'I hope you're right,' he muttered.

'Keep an eye on who?' Isabelle asked dreamily. 

'Doesn't matter,' Tomas sighed. 'Let's just get to work, shall we?'

* * *

Storm crept around the side of the house. Orphaned at an early age, Ororo had become a street thief in order to survive. Now, moving silently was as natural as breathing. Which was all well and good, but she still needed to get back inside if she was to save Kurt, not to mention the rest of San Francisco. So far, all of the windows she had encountered were closed and could only be opened from the inside. There was not even a lock for her to pick. She considered smashing one, but that would give away her position and the advantage of surprise. Still, if she did not find another option soon

There, the back door. It was locked, but Storm still had her tools stowed in her boot. She had used to keep them in her headdress, but she did not have the hair anymore to support one. It was a matter of moments to get the tumblers to fall into place. She eased the door open and slid inside. She considered for a moment and then slipped off her boots. Her bare feet were almost soundless on the carpeted floor as she ran towards the dining room. Unfortunately, the layout of this building was chaotic and, though she knew where the dining room was in relation to the door that did not mean she knew how to cross from one to the other.

She stopped. She had to think this through. That door, she was sure of it. Then down this corridor. Left here. Then second door on the right. No, left. She was in the entrance hall. A wide staircase trailed towards the upper levels. The door to the dining room was open and she could hear chanting coming from inside. She glanced about for a weapon and retrieved a golfing umbrella from a stand by the door. Then she rounded the corner and burst into the room.

Kurt was lying on his back, head towards the circle. The three wizards were all sitting cross-legged staring at the artefacts laid out in the middle. Isabelle was chanting. The whole room was glowing.

Storm swung the umbrella and struck Caven across the shoulders. He shrugged off the blow. Both he and Tomas turned to face her.

'You're too late, X-Man,' Tomas shouted. 'We've just finished the incantation.'

As he spoke so Isabelle quieted. The light in the room coalesced about Kurt's body. He opened his eyes. Rather than his usual yellow, now they glowed red.

* * *

'Hey, Carol, I think she's coming round,' Logan said. Gradually, Kitty's vision cleared and she could see a face to go with the voice.

'Carol?' she asked.

Logan jerked a thumb in Rogue's direction. 'Rogue's having a little lie down, so Carol Danvers is in the driving seat for a while.'

'How's it feel to be up and about again?' Kitty asked, sitting up.

'Terrible,' Carol answered. 'It reminds me of all that I miss. You know, I can't even feel the wind in my face any more. It's odd that things that get you most, isn't it?'

'How's Rachel?' Kitty inquired, eagerly changing the subject.

'Sore,' the small redhead responded. 'What hit me?'

Kitty glanced at Logan. 'Dunno,' she said to Rachel. 'It was so bright I couldn't see properly.'

'Ah, well, guess it probably doesn't matter anyway,' Rachel said. Kitty smiled. Some things were best left buried.

Carol was eyeing the wrecked Sentinel. 'Shouldn't we report this?' she said. 'Get SHIELD or somebody to tow it away?'

'Uh, uh,' Logan said. 'You're not USAF anymore Carol and your not an Avenger either. The X-Men can't afford to play by the rules, what with us being outlaws and all. That thing gets left where it is. It's somebody else's problem now.'

'If you're sure,' Carol looked doubtful, but chose not to argue the point 'Well, if you all up to it, how about we head for home?' she suggested.

'Look, Carol, if you want we could find a bar and reminisce about old times,' Logan offered. 'I'm sure the kids can find their own way back.'

'Logan, I appreciate the thought,' Carol said, 'but to be honest I don't want to remember. All too soon, Rogue's going to take this body back and I'm going to become just another submerged memory. I really don't need to be reminded of what might have been.'

'Guess I wasn't thinking, huh?' Logan replied.

'You were being very sweet,' Carol said, 'something I don't remember you being like at all when I knew you. Maybe we can have a long talk next time I pop up?'

'I'd like that,' Logan said.

'Do those two know each other?' Rachel asked Kitty.

'I think so,' Kitty replied, 'but Logan's so tight-lipped about his past it's difficult to tell who he knows.'

'If there's one thing I've learned,' Rachel said, 'it's that there's no point dwelling on the past. There are always too many bad memories. Just keep looking forward and take each day as it comes.'

'Amen to that,' Kitty responded.

The two girls stood in companionable silence watching the stars and waiting for Carol and Logan to finish. Then Rachel nudged Kitty's elbow.

'Kitty,' she said, pointing to the skyline, 'is that who I think it is?'

'It can't be,' Kitty breathed.

But it was. It was thirty foot tall, had horns and breathed smoke from its nostrils, but the blue-furred features were unmistakable. Nightcrawler was attacking the city.


	8. Eight

Chapter Eight - REDEMPTION

'You're kidding me,' Logan breathed when he saw what the girls were pointing at. It disappeared behind some skyscrapers for a moment and Logan thought that he might have been hallucinating. Then he got another look at it. 'Kurt, what have they done to you?'

'And here I though Attack of the Fifty-Foot Nightcrawler was on tomorrow night,' Kitty joked. Nobody laughed.

'Well, I'm open to suggestions, people,' Logan said. 

Carol put her arm around his waist and lifted him into the air.

'Hey, where are we going?' he asked.

'To talk to it,' Carol replied. 'You got any better ideas.'

'Well, what are we waiting for?' Kitty asked Rachel.

With a shrug, Rachel telekinetically lifted both Kitty and herself into the air after them.

* * *

Storm had not stayed to witness the transformation. Once she realised that she could not stop it her priorities shifted to staying alive long enough to reverse it. Unfortunately, now that the spell was complete, the sorcerers were free to pursue her. If only the others were awake, but they were not and she was on her own. Well, it would not be the first time. 

She pounded up the stairs and onto the landing. She could hear the sound of pursuit and judging by the heavy footfalls it was Caven following her. She needed somewhere to hide and she darted through a door on her left into a bedroom.

Caven lumbered in after her, immediately crossing to the wide-open windows. Storm rolled out from under the double bed and charged him with her shoulder. It was like running into a brick wall. She managed to force him back so he was leaning out of the opening, but he was in no danger of losing his balance. He twisted and wrapped a large hand around Storm's throat. Then he began to squeeze. 

She spat in his face and his grip slackened. Twisting her feet, she tripped him and he pitched backwards. With another shove, she propelled him out of the window. With his left hand he managed to grab hold of the sill. Storm slammed the window on his fingers and he let go. She leaned out of the window to see where he had landed. He had caught his head on the flagstones below and there was blood on his forehead. He was only stunned, however, and was beginning to sit up. Storm glanced quickly around the room, noticing a heavy wooden chest of bed linen. With a grunt of effort, Storm hefted the chest and threw it out of the window after him. There was a shout and then he lay still.

* * *

The demon was climbing out of the bay. The X-Men landed on the roof of a nearby building to watch. The demon in Nightcrawler's form slammed a three-fingered fist down on a waterfront restaurant, crushing it.

'I don't know how long I can hold this,' Rachel said through gritted teeth. She was supporting the collapsed roof just above the heads of those inside using her telekinesis. 

Carol took Kitty's hand and flew her over to the crushed building. Kitty phased through the wall.

'Quickly,' she shouted to the terrified patrons, 'everybody link hands.'

Bemused, but too terrified to argue, the people complied. Her hands moving from one body to the next, Kitty began to feed the human chain out through the wall. She could not have phased all of them at once, but she was not trying. She merely phased them as the past her on reaching the wall. The chain was to make sure no one got left behind. When she was satisfied, Kitty phased back through the wall to join Carol.

While she had been inside, the creature had demolished another building. Logan had carved a massive hole in the side with his claws and Rachel was floating people out in a telekinetic bubble.

'We've got to stop that thing,' Kitty said. 

'Sure, but how?' Carol asked. 'If that really is Kurt are we prepared to fight him? Assuming that we even can.' 

Car horns blared as traffic was crushed beneath the creature's feet. Sirens wailed, but the emergency services were unable to get through.

'Ray,' Kitty shouted to her friend as Carol flew her back to the others, 'those people need doctors.'

'On it,' Rachel replied and flew off.

'Now what?' Logan asked. 'We can't just keep cleaning up after that thing.'

'I'm going to talk to it,' Carol said, preparing to fly off.

Logan put a restraining hand on her arm. 'That's my job,' he said.

'Since when are you a diplomat, fuzzy,' Carol replied, shaking off his hand and flying towards the creature.

She hovered in front of the creature's face, feeling the heat of its breath. 'Who are you?' she shouted at it.

'I have no name,' the creature replied. Its voice was deep and guttural, completely unlike Kurt's. It sounded as if it was bubbling up from deep beneath the earth. 'I simply am.'

'Ohh-kay,' Carol said. She ran a hand nervously through her hair and wished Rogue wore it longer. Maybe after all this was over she could have a word with her about it. 'What do you want.'

'To destroy.' The demon laughed. 'My home is a blissful landscape of rock and fire. If I am to dwell here then I will remake your world in that image.'

'Not if I have anything to say about it, fuzz-face.' Carol lunged for the demon. It opened it's mouth and breathed at her and Carol found herself propelled backwards through a skyscraper.

* * *

Storm had risked sneaking downstairs again. She could here movement and pressed herself flat against the wall until the figure had gone by. She was hiding in the kitchen and, now that she could breath again, she resumed her search of the cutlery drawer for a weapon.

The figure was returning. Storm darted back into a shadowy corner. Isabelle was framed in the doorway.

'I know you're in there,' Isabelle said. 'You hurt Caven. You're a bad girl. And bad girls must be punished.' She giggled and turned to the open cutlery drawer.

Storm lunged forward, but Isabelle whirled holding a long carving knife, forcing Storm back across the room.

'Bad girl,' she shouted again, waving her arms. She scattered glasses and crockery from where they stood by the sink to the floor where the smashed and rolled. Broken glass lay between Storm and the door and she regretted leaving her boots behind. Isabelle advanced waving the knife wildly.

Isabelle frowned. 'You're not smiling,' she complained. Then her eyes brightened. 'Maybe I'll carve a smile for you.'

Storm reached behind her, not taking her eyes from Isabelle and the knife. She could feel a collection of pots and pans hanging from beneath the kitchen cabinets. Isabelle lunged and Storm grabbed a large frying pan just in time to parry the blow. 

'No fair,' Isabelle moaned.

Storm advanced upon her, wielding the pan, but was forced to hop back when her bare feet encountered the broken glass. Isabelle smiled again. Storm reached behind her and picked up another pan, which she threw at Isabelle. The shot was wide, but it made her step back and that was all Storm needed. She sprang forward, over the glass, and landed on the kitchen table. 

Isabelle swung the knife at her feet, but Storm hopped over it. She struck viciously at Isabelle's wrist again and again until she let go of the knife.

Isabelle started to cry. 'Leave me alone,' she whined. 'You're no fun any more.'

Isabelle turned and ran from the room.

* * *

Carol was hearing voices.

'You've got to let me help them,' they were saying.

Slowly the ringing in her head cleared and the voices coalesced into one.

'Please, let me back out there,' Rogue said.

'Why should I?' Carol asked. She noticed that she was back in her own body, wearing her Ms Marvel uniform. Rogue was standing opposite her. Nothing else was visible except for grey fog. 'You stole my life, Rogue. You took away everything I had. My powers, my memories. Have you ever noticed how much you like flying, Rogue?'

Rogue nodded, uncertainly.

'That's me in their, Rogue,' Carol said, tapping the side of her head. 'I'm the one who always wanted to fly. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a pilot.'

'Ah remember,' Rogue agreed. 'Ah used to make little model planes and hang 'em in my bedroom.'

'Not you, Rogue. Me,' Carol corrected. 'I'm the one who made the models. I'm the one who dreamed of flight. I'm the one who gave up everything to get into the Air Force. Me, Rogue. Not you. Me. But you've stolen that from me, as well, haven't you? The thrill you get hanging unsupported in the air. The feel of the wind in your hair. It's not you that responds to those things. It's that bit of me trapped inside of you.'

Carol expected Rogue to lash out, to strike her. She had this image of this evil vampire that had stolen her soul and she was ready to fight it. She did not expect Rogue to break down and cry.

'Don't tell me you hadn't realised it,' Carol taunted, not wanting to show this creature any sympathy, no matter how pitiful she appeared.

'You don't understand,' Rogue explained. 'I don't know who I am any more. It's all just voices in my head. When Ah taste an ice cream and decide Ah like the flavour, Ah don't know if that's me making that decision or you or anyone else I've got knocking around in here. My favourite colour's green, but Ah don't know if it always was, or if I just think that because it was someone else's favourite.'

'My favourite colour's blue,' Carol murmured.

'Ah don't know if there's any more of the real me left,' Rogue cried, 'or if Ah'm just being remade in everyone else's image.'

'It's no less than you deserve,' Carol told her. 'And now you want to me to give up this little bit of freedom I've just clawed back. Do you know that's the first time I've been able to talk to somebody since it happened, somebody I recognised from my past. You want me to just throw that away?'

'Please,' Rogue begged. 'They're my friends. Ah gotta help them.'

* * *

Tomas was waiting for her in the dining room.

'Storm,' he said, 'how nice of you to come back.'

'What have you done to Nightcrawler?' Storm demanded.

'Oh, he's simply acting as a vessel for the essence of a demon,' Tomas replied. 'The demon has remade him in its own image and is now levelling the city.'

'Call it back,' Storm ordered.

'I'm afraid I can't do that,' Tomas said. He drew his sword. 'Now, since you've dispatched my colleagues, perhaps you would care to match blades with me again.'

With a sweep of the knife she was holding, Storm severed the cord holding up the chandelier, which came crashing down on top of Tomas. 

'My apologies,' Storm said, 'but I tried fighting fair once and look where it go me. Now recall that demon and free Nightcrawler.'

'Really, I can't,' Tomas insisted. 'Only Isabelle can do that and, thanks to you, she's no longer around.' He laughed. 'Whatever happens next is completely out of my hands now.'

* * *

'Rogue, is that you?' Logan asked as the woman landed next to him and Kitty.

'Sure is,' Rogue replied. 'What's been happening while Ah was out of it?'

'Take a look,' Logan suggested, pointing at the demon.

Rachel appeared in the distance, towing two ambulances. She set them down near the worst affected areas and landed with the others.

'Good job, kid,' Logan said to her. She smiled. 

Kitty was staring at the creature.

'What's on your mind?' Rogue asked.

'Oh, nothing much,' Kitty admitted. 'Demonology's not one of my subjects.' She snapped her fingers. 'But I know someone who might help. Rachel, I need you to mind-link me with Illyana.'

'Kitty,' Rachel replied, 'Illyana's halfway round the world. That'd be a stretch even for the professor.' 

'Uh, uh,' Kitty shook her head, 'hear me out. Kitty and I already share a special bond. I just need you to boost it so we can communicate.'

'Well, I'll give it a go,' Rachel agreed. 'It might be best if we both sat down first though.'

* * *

Reality melted away around her. She was back in her room in the X-Mansion, the room she shared with Illyana. Illyana was lying on her bed, beneath a poster for a satanic rock group that was not really to Kitty's taste. The girl was dressed in her yellow and black training uniform, her sword arm covered by some form of metal armour. Her Soulsword rested against her bedside cabinet.

Illyana looked up, flicking her long blonde, almost white, hair out of her eyes as she did so.

'Well, look what the cat dragged in,' she said. Although she was Russian there was no trace of an accent. She had not been in Russia since she was six years old and her upbringing since had hardly been conventional. 'Long time no see. How's life on the West Coast?' 

Kitty was staring around the room incredulously. Illyana was supposed to be in Scotland, not Westchester.

Illyana drummed her fingers impatiently on the cabinet. 'It's not real,' she said. 'We're both on the astral plane, remember. I take it all of this is for my benefit.'

'We're in big trouble,' Kitty said.

'I know, Rachel's already given me the details.' Illyana tapped the side of her head. 'Data dump.'

'Data what?'

'You're the computer geek,' Illyana protested, 'you explain it to me. All I know is that it's like that, but with thoughts.'

'Well?' Kitty prompted.

'Wellit'd probably be best if I came out there to join you,' Illyana said. 'With the sword, I've got a shot a dispelling this thing. The professor will have a fit if he finds out though. That's reason enough to do it on its own.'

Illyana swung her feet of the bed and lifted her sword. Then she began to summon her stepping disk. A circle of light appeared at her feet, gradually rising up her body. Illyana was supposed to disappear when it touched her. She did not.

'Bloody hell,' she swore.

'Language,' Kitty admonished.

'You're starting to sound like Rahne,' Illyana commented. 'That should have worked. I should be standing right next to you now.'

'So what happened?' Kitty asked.

'Must be some kind of interference caused by the demon. It won't let my magicks through.' Illyana pouted. 'I could always go back to before the demon appeared and then wait for you to contact me before showing up. No, just thinking about that makes my head hurt. Bit like one of the big M's physics lectures. Where's he in all this anyway?'

'Missing in action,' Kitty explained.

'Something got Magneto?' Illyana practically jumped up and down with delight. 'This I've got to see.'

'This is serious,' Kitty said.

'I know,' Illyana admitted. 'I just think it'll do him good to see he's not invulnerable.' She sat down on the bed again. 'Back to plan B.'

'Which is?' Kitty prompted.

'I'm working on it,' Illyana protested.

'Well, could you hurry it up. We're running out of time.'

'Two things,' Illyana snapped holding up her fingers. 'One, we are not running out of time because none of this is happening in real time anyway. Two, the professor's decided to spring a math test on us tomorrow and demon sorceress or not I'm having trouble switching gears. I keep seeing quadratic equations in front of my eyes.' 

'Scary,' Kitty agreed.

'Scarier than your demon, that's for sure.' Kitty was not quite certain what happened next. Illyana seemed to open a fold in the fabric of reality, stick her hand into it and retrieve a book. She started flicking through the pages. 'Think of it as a scrapbook,' Illyana said. 'Demons I have known and hated. I'd guess this guy's your typical lesser demon. They're big on all this death and destruction stuff. Makes then feel superior when we all know that they're the runts of the litter. All the standard demon featuresvulnerability to ironthough where you'll get enough iron to dispel him is beyond me. There's also another problem. If you kill the demon while he's still inside Kurt then you'll kill Kurt too. Somehow, you've got to convince him to leave voluntarily.'

'Oh, that's a big help,' Kitty complained. 

'Well, what do you expect?' Illyana retorted. 'If I'd known you want miracles I'd have dug out God's mobile number. Now hop it, I've got studying to do.'

* * *

Kitty blinked and she found herself back in the real world. Rogue helped her to her feet. She was still a little unsteady after her out-of-body experience. She turned to Rachel.

'Did you get all that?' she asked.

'Yes,' she replied, 'and I think I've got an idea.'

'Mind sharing it with us, darlin'?' Logan said.

'No time,' Rachel responded. 'I'll need the three of you to keep that thing busy until I get back.'

Logan extended his claws. 'Look, kid, these things aren't exactly meant for defence. I'm liable to do the elf some serious damage if I get into a roughhouse.'

'I doubt that,' Rachel answered. 'I don't think you'll be able to hurt the demon at all. But we need to keep it contained.'

'We're on it,' Kitty said. 'Just hurry back.' 

Rachel flew off into the night.

'Fastball special, Wolvie?' Rogue asked.

'You read my mind,' he replied. 

With a little difficulty, Rogue hefted the smaller mutant in one hand, the she hurled him head first at the demon. He extended his claws and found himself embedded like and arrow in the creature's chest. He began using his claws to climb up the creature, slashing its flesh as he went. He looked back and saw the wounds healing almost as fast as he could cut them. It seemed Rachel had been right.

If Logan had been an arrow, Rogue was a cannonball as she slammed into the creature's temple. It bellowed with rage and raised its arm to grab her, but Rogue had been expecting that. She flew behind it and began pummelling it between the shoulder blades where the creature could not reach.

Kitty did not attempt to fight the demon. Instead she phased so that she could walk on air and stood in front of it, hurling abuse at it. The demon tried to claw at her, but while she was phased it had nothing to hold on to.

It tired of Logan first. Tilting its head, it unleashed its super-heated breath on him. The heat did not bother Logan, his healing factor would deal with any burns, but he could not hold on in the gale force winds and he slid slowly down the demon onto the ground.

Rogue may have been out of reach of the demon's hands, but she had forgotten its tail. It coiled up behind her and grabbed her about the waist. Then the demon flung her far away from it. 

'Not again,' Rogue cried as she slammed through another building.

Kitty may have been untouchable, but while phased she could not breathe. Eventually, she came to land next to Logan gasping for air.

'Do you think we did enough?' she panted.

'What do you think?' he said.

* * *

The flaming giant came lumbering down the street to confront the demon. If that was a giant perversion of Nightcrawler then this was the same, but with Phoenix as the subject. She towered over them, dressed as a Hound and masked, surrounded by the flames of the Phoenix effect. 

'Greetings, little one,' the Phoenix said to the demon. 'Why do you spoil my city so?'

'Because a can,' the demon growled in response. 'Because I have the power to do so.'

'The Phoenix laughed. 'Power, little one? You do not know the meaning of the word. I have power the like of which you cannot even dream of. I can snuff out suns with but a stray thought if I wished. You may be able to remake this planet, but I could remake the universe.'

The demon was looking at its opponent craftily.

'But power can be usurped,' it said.

'Usurped!' The Phoenix laughed again. 'Are you threatening me, little one?'

The demon moved closer. 'I will possess you. I will break your body and your spirit and I will make your power my own.'

'You can try,' the Phoenix mocked.

'I shall.' A red haze crossed from the demon's eyes and engulfed the giant Phoenix. As the haze left the body it shrunk and reverted to Nightcrawler's original form. He fell from the sky, but Rogue flew up and caught him before he struck the ground.

'Great,' Kitty said to Logan, 'we've freed one X-Man only to lose another.'

'You think?' Kitty turned to see Rachel standing behind her, a face contorted with intense concentration.

'Watch,' she said. 

And with a wave of her hand she dispersed the Phoenix effect.

The demon had willingly entered the body of the Sentinel. It screamed.

'Trapped in that much iron, I don't think we'll have to worry about him any more,' Rachel said, brushing imaginary dust from her hands.

'You did good, kid,' Logan said. 'I don't think I tell you that nearly enough.'

'Too right,' Rachel agreed.

* * *

It was just before dawn and Logan was once again sitting on the bench in the garden. The others were all resting after the day's exertions. Logan had ribbed Magneto about his being taken out of play so early in the came and the master of magnetism had looked ready to turn his skeleton into cutlery had Storm not intervened. Both she and Magnus had congratulated Rachel once they had heard of her part in the demon's destruction. They were understandably pleased with their protégé. Strange to think how much had happened in the past forty-eight hours. He lit up another of his cigars. Jessica would not let him smoke in the house so he had to take the opportunity wherever he got it.

'C'mon out, elf,' he growled.

'How do you do it, _mein freund_,' Kurt asked. 'I know for a fact that I was downwind of you.'

'I could tell you, elf, but then I'd have to kill you.'

'No file tonight, I see,' Kurt said as he sat down next to his friend.

'No, I don't think I'm going to need that anymore,' Logan admitted.

'You don't think Rachel will become the Dark Phoenix?'

Logan shrugged. 'I dunno, elf, and to be honest she still scares me. But I'll deal with that when it happens, not before. She's got her own life to lead and she doesn't need me judging her all the time.'

'Amen to that,' Kurt said. Logan ignored him.

He stared up at that smudge of the Milky Way. 'I don't know how things are gonna turn out, misfit,' Logan concluded, 'but I do know that, whatever happens, that kids going to do her Mom proud.

And perhaps, somewhere in the heavens, Jean Grey smiled. 


End file.
